The Motel
by castor442
Summary: The motel was the most beautiful thing he had come across. It wouldn't have mattered if it was just a tin shack by the road. It had a roof and a bed and heating. It was a magnificent castle. OR A storm forces two sets of supernaturally inclined, very opposite brothers to meet at a motel.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of the vampire diaries or supernatural. If I did, there'd be a lot of crossovers on TV.**_

* * *

_**A Magnificent Castle**_

The road before him seemed to stretch on for miles. Miles and miles of nothing but white crunchy snow. He sighed as he took in the figure sleeping in the seat beside him. He took one hand off the steering wheel and rearranged the blanket carefully around his passenger. He scoffed at the amount of chaos that angelic face could brew and wondered for what seemed like the zillionth time if he was that bratty at twenty-two. _Damn baby brothers._

Dean spared one last glance at his brother before turning his attention back to the road. If they didn't find shelter soon, they'll freeze in the blizzard they were caught in. He strained his eyes to look through all the white outside his windows and windscreen to find the distinguishing features of a house or a building of some sort. Hell, he'd take a witch's lair right now if it meant getting out of the snow.

In Dean's eyes, the motel was the most beautiful thing he had come across. It wouldn't matter if it was just a tin shack by the road. It had a roof and a bed and heating. It was a magnificent castle. And it looked like he wasn't the only one who thought so. The motel parking lot was almost overflowing with cars, some of them very flashy. Whoever owned this motel was about to make a shit ton of money. He hastily found some parking space, mentally apologizing to the car for the rough treatment and, after a quick internal debate as to whether to wake Sam now, he decided to check them in first and then worry later about how to get Sam to their room.

* * *

Damon wondered why he never pays attention to Caroline when it matters as he tried to navigate through the heavy snow storm. He remembered her vaguely saying something about a blizzard or something as they prepared for this trip. Now here he was in the middle of nowhere, and the storm rapidly picking up. When he meets up with the rest of them, he knows he deserves every single one of their _I-told-you-so'_s. At least one good thing came out of this mishap, he comforted himself as he looked into the rearview mirror at the figure sprawled across the back seat peacefully sleeping the storm away. His baby brother wasn't one for much sleep, so Damon took what he could get. Seriously though, if they didn't find a place to stop soon, he was going to start pulling out all his hair.

Damon was so into his thoughts, they almost passed by the motel before he saw it. With a sharp U-turn that he was surprised didn't throw Stefan off the back seat onto the floor of the car, he parked in front of the motel and just narrowly avoided hitting some young guy who practically dove out of his seat as soon as his impala was parked. He didn't even pause to think about what to do with Stefan, deciding to secure a room for them first and then simply carry him inside. He reached the lobby just as a matronly Hispanic woman was arriving at the reception; the young man immediately before him having rung the bell so loudly and for so long, Damon was sure they heard in Australia.

"We need a room"

"Oh dear. You boys have been out in the cold for quite a while, haven't you? Because the last of my guests to get caught in the storm arrived over two hours ago" the woman said to them, chiding. "You boys were not caught in the storm, you rode into it. Didn't you watch the news this morning?" she tutted. "Kids these days. You don't pay attention to warnings. You could have died out there"

"Look, lady, I appreciate the concern but I need a room with two beds. For my brother and I" Dean interrupted quickly

"I need one too" Damon added

The woman was slightly confused. "Wait, you're not his brother?"

"No, my brother's in the car outside. Now would you hurry. Storm's getting worse" Damon was getting irritated

"Yes, lady. Do hurry up. I can't keep the engine running for too long. Don't know how long till I find a gas station and I don't wish to waste any more fuel. So please, room?" Dean said

"Oh… well… that is… erm… we've got only one room left"

"What?!"

* * *

_**So, this is my new story people. I have a few chapters written but its still a work in progress. Let me know how you like it and if I should continue in the reviews.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of the vampire diaries or supernatural. If I did, there'd be a lot of crossovers on TV.**_

* * *

**Chapter 2: **_**INTRODUCTIONS**_

"I have only one room left" she said again. "But it's got two beds. King-size. And my rooms are fairly large. I'm sure you can share quite comfortably". At the dumbfounded looks she received, she hastily continued. "Look, there's no motel around for miles, and it says on the news the storm's only going to get worse. Why don't you get your respective siblings and try to make it work?"

"We'll take it" Dean said quickly. "Honestly, lady, if you offered a tree house, I'd take it. You cool with that, man?" he asked the raven-haired man. He looked quite young, maybe just a couple of years older than Sam. And everything about him screamed money. From his shiny jacket to his designer boots. Probably just some rich kid and his brother going to join mommy and daddy in some posh holiday resort who got caught in the storm. His reply though, caught Dean a little of guard.

"I've had worse" Damon said before slapping a black card onto the counter. Dean stopped himself from whistling just in time. Mommy and daddy must be _really _loaded. "I'll get the room. You get your brother and your stuff. When you get back, I'll get mine"

Dean didn't have to be told twice. He took a quick glance at the room number and set off to fetch Sam and their things. When he managed to lead a very groggy Sam and their duffel bags into the room, Damon left to get Stefan. True to his word, he didn't bother waking him; just scooped him up in his arms, grabbed their suitcases in one hand, and marched up the stairs. The matronly motel owner was right. Their room was a bit larger than the average motel room and the beds were big enough to accommodate two people. He lay Stefan down in the bed furthest from the door, as his new roommates had already claimed the one closest to the door to be theirs. He sat down on the bed beside Stefan, his back to the headboard and his legs crossed at the ankles as he closed his eyes with a small sigh.

"Hey Damon"

"Dean" Damon answered without opening his eyes

"How do you know my name?"

"I could ask you the same question"

"No, you couldn't" Dean rebutted. "I saw your name on the card you gave to the receptionist. Where did you see mine?"

"I didn't see. I heard your brother whine it"

"What were you doing out in the storm?" Dean continued

"What is this? Twenty questions?" Damon returned, annoyance slipping into his voice

"I just want to know who I'm rooming with. Make sure you are not a threat to Sammy or anything"

"Hmm. Is that so?" Damon said, uncrossing his legs and setting them squarely on the ground as he faced Dean. "Maybe I should make sure you are no threat to Stefan"

"What? America's most spoiled teenager here? His name is Stefan? What are you, Italian or something? Stefan and Damon Salvatore"

Damon smirked. "Minding your business seems like a foreign concept to you, Dean I-don't-care-to-know-what-your-last-name-is. I'm honestly surprised that you lived this long already. I assure you, you do not want to make the same mistake with me. You keep your short, nosy self away from my brother and I. We have to share a room, we don't have to share anything else"

Dean scoffed. "Is that supposed to be a threat? Boy, please. That weak ass threat may work on mommy and daddy, and have them scurrying around to find you a therapist, but it don't hold weight with me" Dean said, unconcerned. "And whatever gave you the idea I was a sharing kind of person?" he challenged

"Dean" Sam said warily, having woken sometime during their little whatever it was they were doing. But he could feel it escalating already. "What is going on?"

"He's not right, Sam. Something is off about him. For starters, he just carried his _**teenage**_ brother _**and**_ their luggage into the room like they weighed two pounds. He's not entirely…right"

Damon suddenly laughed. "Oh, this is rich. Of all the places in the world and all the people to be stranded with, I end up with a pair of fucking hunters"

Sam muttered a quiet _what the hell _before literally jumping off the bed, as Dean pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Damon. "What the hell are you?"

Damon chuckled again. "I would have thought you would go for the shotgun. Go on and get it. I'll wait" he said to Sam

"He asked you a question asshole" Sam growled

"Ooh, such strong language. And in the presence of minors too"

Dean cocked his gun. "What are you? And how do you know about the guns?"

"Oh please. You reek of gunpowder. Couple that with the ear shuttering sound your weapons make when the clink against each other, it's all I can do not to gouge out my eyeballs" Damon sneered.

"What. Are. You?" Dean asked through clenched teeth

Damon released a bored sigh. "A bit repetitive, aren't you?"

"Just answer the damn question"

"Or what? You'll kill me?" Damon challenged. "You don't frighten me shorty. There's only one type of hunter that could do me any kind of damage, and you and your sasquatch of a brother here are not them or I most likely won't be alive to have this conversation. And while you and your brother don't strike me as average kind of hunters-you seem to be pretty good at what you do- I can tell you haven't seen anything quite like me before. Most hunters don't, or there'd be considerably less of you people slinking around. Now we have to share this room for at least a couple of days while this storm clears. You're welcome to try and find alternate accommodation if you want, honestly, I don't care - you freeze your butts off out there, it's just a couple less hunters the world has to worry about - but if you'll stay here, you would do well to keep your trigger-happy finger away from Stefan and I. I'm going to sleep. Try not to attempt to kill me in my sleep. It would not end well for you"

It wasn't everyday one could say Dean Winchester was short of words, but he looked on gobsmacked as Damon shrugged off his leather jacket, boots and belt before sliding in to the bed beside Stefan, who had managed to sleep through their mini standoff or introduction or whatever just happened. What kind of monsters were these two and why did Damon seem so unafraid of hunters? Usually, when they came across creatures who knew their hunter status, there was either fear or threats of disembowelment or plain old attempts to kill them. But this, this was making Dean woozy. He didn't like the situation. A monster who wasn't afraid of a hunter, who hadn't threatened to kill said hunter - well to be fair, Damon did threaten him, but only after he had irritated him - ugh, Dean was tired.

"I need a beer" he announced suddenly

Sam looked at him, shocked. "Really? Now?"

"Yes Sammy, now. You figure out what rich brat and his brother are and let me know. Beer makes everything clearer"

"What? That doesn't make any sense"

"Exactly. See you later Sammy. Oh, and don't die while I'm away" Dean said before closing the door behind him and stepping out into the frigid air outside. There has to be a beer or two inside this motel somewhere

Damon smirked into his pillow. He was going to **love** Dean!

* * *

_Here's chapter two. Enjoy, my lovelies!_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of the vampire diaries or supernatural. If I did, there'd be a lot of crossovers on TV.**_

* * *

**Chapter 3: LET'S BE FRIENDS**

Sam looked at Damon and Stefan and wondered for the umpteenth time how they could be sleeping so peacefully a few feet across from a couple of hunters. He hadn't slept a wink last night; he and Dean had agreed to sleep in shifts of three hours so at least one of them was awake at all times in case the creatures they were rooming with tried anything funny but Sam had let Dean sleep since he slept some in the car on their way here. Besides, he needed the time to do research to try and find what kind of beings their roomies were. He went over his research again. Very strong, obviously very rich - though Sam was not sure that counted - pretty pale looking - but then again, it was winter, everyone was looking pale - ugh, back to square one, Sam thought forlornly. _Okay, lets take it back from the beginning._

Very strong; a wolf or a vampire. But wolves move in packs and vampires in covens. These two are alone. And are they both creatures, or is the teenager a pet of some sort? He did say it was his brother but what if he was lying? Wolves are warm blooded. The cold bothers them less than humans but it's a nuisance they don't like to deal with and they wouldn't be caught dead in a cold of this magnitude. That leaves vampires. They've already met some vampires, and without taking a look at their teeth, they can't tell what kind these are, if they were vampires. Damon certainly looked strong enough and pale enough to be one. The only other creatures that came to mind was a succubus or a striga, but succubus preferred female forms and strigas slinked around at night to feed on young souls. Most people caught out in the storm who were now rooming at the motel were late thirties to mid-fifties, making the youngest people at the motel right now and any potential target for a striga the occupants of their room, effectively clearing striga off the table and sending Sam back to vampires and possibly wolves.

He huffed and looked at the time. Maybe at a more reasonable hour, they could call Bobby and ask his opinion. Or he could test them? He was sure they had some wolfsbane and a little dead man's blood. He could just put a couple of drops in a cup or something and have them drink it. Assuming they were actually brothers, at least one of them should feel the effects of the toxin. Sam stood to check if they actually did have those stuff, and after carefully stepping around the salt lines, started to rummage though their bags in search of it. In his excited and somewhat distracted state however, he was not very careful and accidentally cut himself on some jagged piece of metal he had no idea the purpose of. With a short yelp and a muttered curse, he whisked out the bleeding appendage and hastily looked for a bandage to wrap it with. In that single moment, several things happened at once.

Stefan shifted in his sleep, grogginess giving way to wakefulness rapidly as the aroma of fresh blood filled his nostrils. The first thing he saw was his older brother's sleeping face, which effectively told him that they were not alone in the room. He pushed himself upwards and locked eyes with Sam, though he was a total stranger in Stefan's eyes. The strong smell of gunpowder on Sam and the call of the blood from his still bleeding arm, combined with the fact he was a complete unknown to Stefan set him on edge. The veins around his eyes popped as he vaulted over Damon with a fierce growl and pinned Sam to the wall. That action efficiently woke Damon and Dean, the latter cocking his gun and leveling it on Stefan as soon as his eyes shot open.

"You let him go or I will empty this whole mag into the back of your head" Dean threatened. "I don't care what age you're supposed to be"

"Stefan, what are you doing? Let him go"

"Who are they and why are they here, Damon?"

"Boy, I won't repeat myself" Dean said

Damon rolled his eyes at the drama. "Dean, put away the gun. It won't hurt Stefan and you'll just be wasting bullets. Stefan, put Sam down now. I won't say it again" Damon said, the warning loud and clear.

Stefan dropped Sam almost immediately - Damon's threats were not to be taken lightly - but Dean still had a firm grip on his gun and it followed Stefan's movements around the room.

"Dean, you point that gun away from my brother, right now" Damon warned

Dean was not fazed. "Why? You said it wouldn't hurt him"

"It won't. But I will if you don't lower it"

Dean chuckled, about to say something irritating before Sam spoke. "Its okay, Dean. I'm fine". When Dean made no attempt to holster the gun, he continued "Dean"

"I don't like this Sammy. Its not right" he said, before finally lowering the handgun. He felt a sudden rush of wind and then the gun was gone from his hands. A second later, Damon threw him something which he caught deftly. A quick look at the metal in his palm revealed his former gun, crumpled into a ball. Dean looked up, shocked at Damon. "You destroyed my gun?"

"I told you to get it away from Stefan. You're lucky I like you, else that would have been your neck" Damon said nonchalantly, before turning to Stefan while Dean and Sam were still in a bit of a haze. "Stef, this is Dean and his brother Sam. They're hunters, and we're staying in this room together - it was the last one they had and we got here at the same time - until the storm passes"

"What the hell are you people?" Sam finally asked

"And they've been a bit monotonous with the questions" Damon added to Stefan, ignoring the stupefied look he was giving him

"We're vampires" Stefan told Sam without preamble, making Damon do a mental facepalm. He then turned on Damon. "Hunters? You got us a room with hunters? Why on earth would you do something like that?"

"First of all, watch the tone. I don't need your permission to do anything. You on the other hand, **always** need mine. Secondly, we needed to get out of the snow, you know, find you a real bed"

"Oh, so all this is because you were concerned for my neck muscles?" Stefan sneered

"You…things are not vampires. We hunted vampires. They're not … you" Sam finished somewhat lamely

"Yes, I'm a good big brother like that. And visibility was getting poorer by the second. I didn't wanna risk driving into a tree or lamppost or something" Damon answered Stefan

"Visibility? That's your excuse? Damon, you can drive through pitch black blindfolded" Stefan rebutted

Sam and Dean looked on as the vampire brothers seemingly forgot about their audience and continued to squabble. Dean used that opportunity to grab a knife and dip it dead man's blood before hurling it at Damon's back. It was a perfect target, a shot Dean could have made in his sleep, except Damon turned around with the same dizzying speed from earlier and deftly grabbed the knife midair. Stefan peeked around him at the knife, before scrunching his nose with distaste.

"There's something wrong with the blood, like its stale or something" he complained

"You got that too, huh?" Damon asked, slightly confused. "What is this supposed to be?" he asked the hunter pair before him

"What are you people?"

"Ugh, that question again? Don't you have anything else to ask? It's becoming annoying to hear" Damon said. "And Stefan already told you, though I preferred if you figured it out on your own but that was going to take forever. We're vampires' man, you know fangs and blood and all that? What kind of hunters are you anyway? You seem seasoned, and yet at the same time new. It's confusing"

Dean shook his head. "This is … crazy. I need a beer" he announced

Sam glared at him. "This is not the time for a beer, Dean. We need to stay sharp"

"Its always time for a beer, Sammy. And if they wanted us dead, we'd be dead, sharp or no sharp" Dean counted, before grabbing his jacket

"Say Dean, I know beer is good and all, but how do you feel about bourbon?" Damon asked

Stefan facepalmed. "Damon, when did you have time to pack bourbon? And where did you even put it?"

"Oh, baby brother. Sometimes I forget how old you biologically are" Damon chuckled. "So, Dean, what do you say?"

Dean shrugged. "Long as you're buying man"

Damon whooped. "I knew I liked you" he said, before taking a good look at Dean. He grabbed his suitcase and threw Dean a winter jacket. "Put this on, else you'll freeze before we make it to the car and I'm not in the habit of losing new friends. Alright, Sam, you're the semi adult here so you're in charge. Don't let Stefan's puppy eyes get to you, he's really good at puling them off. Stefan, get started on homework and that little assignment I gave you. If you have problems, ask Sam, he looks like a geek. Oh, and Stefan, non costringerlo (_**don't compel him).**_ Okay now, be good boys and don't do anything we wouldn't do"

Stefan and Sam stood staring stunned at the door even after it had been shut in their faces. Finally, Stefan croaked out.

"What just happened?"


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of the vampire diaries or supernatural. If I did, there'd be a lot of crossovers on TV.**_

* * *

_**Chapter 4: **__**GETTING ACQUAINTED**_

Events were unfolding like opposite day. He was first to trust, he gave chances; a listening ear, as opposed to his brother's shoot now ask questions later. But this, this was very unlike him. What just happened indeed!

"I can hear you thinking from here. What is it?" Stefan asked, without taking his eyes off the magazine he was looking through

"You can do that?" Sam asked, bewildered

"No, of course not. But I don't have to be a mind reader to know you're thinking of something. A great deal"

"I'm just confused"

"About what?"

"Its just, you know, Dean is like my dad in a lot of ways. A bit old school. Everything that is not human has to be killed, it doesn't matter if they are the friendliest things. Let me put it this way, if Dean saw Gandhi's ghost, he'd shoot without hesitation. Usually, it was me who tried to talk him out of it, you know, explain that some people may be not human but that they didn't have to be killed. Some creatures deserve a second chance you know, to be left alone. But this, this is just…"

"Ah, I get it. You're worried Dean seems to be giving Damon not such a hard time, and that is unlike him"

"Yes" Sam concurred. "It's a bit unnerving, is all"

Stefan chuckled. "Sam, there is nothing wrong with Dean. Damon just has that effect on most people. He is so annoying, you stop getting pissed in the first thirty seconds of meeting him and just go along with it in order to keep your sanity"

"Huh"

"Oh yeah. He is the epitome of exasperation. The poster boy of everything irritating. But he does seem to genuinely like your brother though. Cos I can tell you with certainty, no body who has threatened my life directly in front of Damon has lived to be able to apologize. He's overbearing like that" Stefan stated plainly. "The worst that'll happen is Damon would get Dean drunk and they'll terrorize some innocent patrons" he added, before putting down the magazine and facing Sam. "Sorry about earlier anyway. I don't do well with blood, and you were a complete stranger to me so, yeah, I'm sorry about that. Would you like something to drink?" Stefan asked as he pulled a bottle of scotch from his suitcase. "Damon doesn't know I took this"

Sam looked befuddled at the teenager before him. "Kid, how old are you?"

Stefan just shrugged as he found some disposable cups. "Which one?"

"What do you mean which one?"

"Well there is my current age, the age I'm stuck at because of the never growing any older thing, and the how long I've been alive age" Stefan ended with a smile. "I though you said you hunted vampires before?"

"Well we didn't stop to have a chat with them before lopping off their heads" Sam countered. "I think I'm gonna need a beer as well"

"And I think I'm gonna do what Damon did and offer you some scotch" Stefan said as he poured Sam half a cup. "So, which age do you wanna know?"

"All of them, I guess"

"Well, I'm eternally stuck at seventeen, and I've been stuck at seventeen since 1864. But currently, I'm supposed to be sixteen. I'm starting a new school next year. Transfer student"

"Wow" was all Sam managed, before taking a swig of his scotch. "That is one amazing scotch"

"Yeah, Damon spends a lot on alcohol"

"So, you guys must be pretty loaded huh"

Stefan shrugged. "We're okay"

"Uh huh. Whatever you say"

"Hey, are you old enough to be drinking?"

Sam chuckled. "Dude, I should be asking you that. I'm twenty-two" he said, before downing the rest of his scotch. "Hey, your brother said something about an assignment. Was that what you were reading?"

"Oh that. Damon wants to send me to boarding school and the only choice I get in the matter is which one of these four schools…" he shoved some magazines in Sam's face. "… I'd like it to be. And it's not even much of a choice"

Sam took the offered magazines and started flipping through. "Really? Why's that?"

"Because two of the schools are single sex, and Damon knows I can't go to a boy's school because my friends and I - they are more like family really - have to be enrolled in one school. Its like an unspoken rule that the 'adults' made up, Damon included; something about that making it easier to keep an eye on us or something; but he still gave me _four _schools to choose from, when really I have just two. He just likes torturing me" Stefan ranted

Sam just watched him rant, nodding ever so often. "Well, then why don't you talk to your friends? Maybe you can all come to one consensus"

"We've been arguing for the past two days on this, even before we left home. And it's still ongoing. Oh look" Stefan said as his phone chimed. "Caroline said she doesn't like St. Vladimir's cos they don't have a cheer squad but Kol wants to go to St. Vlad's cos it's in Romania and he thinks its funny that a bunch of vampires and witches and hunters are going to Dracula's hometown for school"

Sam laughed. "Wait, some of your friends are hunters?"

"Just one"

"Huh. Hey you know, when we got here last night, you were pretty out of it, Dean and Damon had their first standoff. Damon said something. He said we were not they type of hunters he was afraid of, that we couldn't do him any harm. What did he mean? Is that the kind of hunter your friend is?"

"Oh, that is a long story, but basically what Damon meant was - and I'm glad we're semi friends before I'm saying this, otherwise it would be incredibly awkward - that he could kill you if you provoked him. The hunters he was talking about, the kind my friend is, those hunters were created by a witch purposely for us. To hunt us down. They were called the Brotherhood of The Five because at any given time there were five of them in the world. Now if you or your brother came for my kind of vampire, we could snap your neck or rip out your heart in a second, but one of the Five we couldn't touch. Because if a vampire killed one of the Five, every day becomes a living nightmare. You would be plagued with hellish visions of you doing terrible things to your loved ones and similar horrible things being done to you until you descend into madness and eventually kill yourself. This will go on until the hunter is replaced and the brotherhood are five again. No vampire ever wants to cross paths with the five, and when we do come across them, all we can do is run in the opposite direction. The Five are never to be messed with"

"Wow. That was illuminating" Sam breathed. "So, your hunter friend, how does he resist the urge to kill you?"

"That, my friend, is a story for another day" Stefan said. "If you don't mind, I have homework"

"Homework?"

"Yes. Apparently, since we are changing schools midsemester, we have to write an entrance examination of sorts and Alaric's been making us do this boring tests and homework every day so we get in to whichever school we decide on. And I'm telling you, after all these years of repeating high school, I haven't found an iota of love for math yet. I hate that subject with a passion reserved for Nazis and terrorists. I just don't get it man and I don't know what all the fuss is about anyway. I'm never going to be old enough to need these skills. I'm trapped at seventeen. The oldest I've managed to make myself look is twenty-four, and even then, I kept receiving weird looks. I won't ever need any of this to secure a job or anything. I just go to school, hit twenty-four, and - if Damon is feeling particularly benevolent, do my own thing for a couple of years - start all over again"

"So" Sam said slowly, not wanting to aggravate the eternal teen any further. "You don't like math". Stefan gave him a look that clearly said what gave it away. "Well, if your homework is math, maybe I can help. What topic are you on?"

Stefan shrugged. "Vectors or matrices, I don't know. I can't tell the difference"

"Okay, how about we start by separating the two?"

* * *

_**In the parking lot**_

"Man, this coat is incredible. I can barely feel the cold" Dean said.

"Yeah? You can keep it" Damon replied

"I wasn't gonna return it anyway" Dean retorted. "Or maybe it's the bourbon. I can't tell at this point" he sighed. "Man, if my dad could see me now. Having a drink with a possibly psychotic vampire"

Damon laughed. "Well, if he disowns you, you could always come live with Stefan and me"

"I don't think that'll be a problem man" Dean chuckled somberly. "He's in no position to disown me"

"Oh" was all Damon could muster

Dean gave a watery chuckle. "I hope you're not going to say something as corny as _**I'm sorry**_"

"Nah man" Damon said, shaking his head. "My father was an asshole. Its hard for me to see fathers in any different light"

"What'd he do?" the eldest Winchester asked, turning around in his seat to face him

"We are _**so**_ not drunk enough for this conversation" Damon evaded. "Say, what do you think baby brothers are doing right now?"

"Probably writing a letter to Santa" Dean replied with a chuckle, which Damon matched. "We should probably grab them some breakfast. I don't think they'll ever come down for it"

"Sounds like a plan. Come on"

"You know, if it weren't all this snow, I'd enjoy racing you"

"Boy, give it up. Your car looks like it would fall apart if I run past it too fast"

"Hey, don't talk about baby like that"

"Baby?" Damon scoffed. "I'd have ended it with you a long, long time ago. You are abusing her!"

Their teasing tones disappeared into the wind as they hurried to get inside, one to avoid been frozen and the other purely for appearance sake.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of the vampire diaries or supernatural. If I did, there'd be a lot of crossovers on TV.**_

* * *

**Chapter 5: ****REALITY IS A BITCH**

* * *

The storm raved outside for a long time, with periodic bouts of calm permeating it. Anyone caught out in this storm would have a slim survival chance, Sam surmised, as he stared out at the rapidly falling snow. It was just a little after 7pm, but it was so dark outside, it looked like midnight. They had just had dinner, and Sam had learnt another new thing about their vampire roommates; they could eat normal human food, even the ones with garlic, go figure. Stefan was texting in the corner and Dean and Damon were playing some weird game that involved Dean throwing knives and Damon catching them. _What boredom could do, _Sam shook his head. The monotony of the evening was broken when Sam saw Stefan stand up from his peripheral vision and walk toward him.

"Hey, you wanna play a game?" the teenager asked him and Sam shook himself one more time so he could believe that a vampire was playing video games at all let alone with a hunter. _What had his life become?_

"Yeah, sure. What game?"

"You pick" Stefan replied as he pulled out his laptop and game controllers.

Sam whistled at the computer. "_That_ is yours?"

Stefan nodded. "Yes. Damon got it for me a few months ago" he answered nonchalantly

"What happened to the old one?" Sam asked, still admiring the piece of technology he was holding, before seemingly catching himself. "I'm assuming there was one before this?"

"There was. Damon took it. I don't really know what Damon does to our old stuff"

Sam whistled again as he turned the computer on. "What do you use it for?"

"School work, video games, Skype calls, stuff like that"

"School work and Skype calls. _That_ is what you use this computer for. Unbelievable"

"Sammy, should we give you the room? You know, so you can make out with the computer?" Dean teased, before dissolving into laughter with Damon. "What is the big deal anyway? You have one"

"Dean, comparing my computer to this one is like comparing military grade high caliber sniper rifle to a pawnshop handgun" Sam deadpanned. "This…is a work of art. Beautiful"

"Uh huh. So, you gonna play the game or not? Stefan's been waiting a while, so you can orgasm to his laptop" Dean replied in a similar deadpan, while shuffling cards that he was playing with Damon.

Sam hadn't even noticed their new game. He glared at Dean before picking Assassins Creed. Stefan passed him one of the controllers and they sat down to play. The medium pitched sounds of the video game and the soft tones of the card game coupled with the sound of wind and falling snow made for a very tranquil evening. Sam had all but forgotten about the weirdness of the situation when he was presented with a huge wake up call.

"Damon, I'm hungry" Stefan said suddenly, shifting slightly on the bed with a barely concealed wince. Come to think of it, Sam mused, he had been fidgety for a few minutes.

"Man, you are one indulged kid. You can't find yourself some food?" Dean deliberated. "There's a vending machine just down the hall" he added, before turning back to their card game. They had gone through many variations and were now playing _Texas' hol em_. Dean was surprised when Damon put down his cards and got up. "Seriously? He can't feed himself?"

"You don't want him to help himself, trust me" Damon said, a hint of warning backing the words. When the Winchesters seemed to be still confused, he enunciated. "He. Is. Hungry"

It took a second for realization to dawn on them, but when it did, Dean dove for his gun faster than lightening and levelled it unwaveringly at Damon. "I can't allow you to do that, pal" he said, before cocking his head at his brother. "Sam, come over here"

Damon chuckled and rolled his eyes while Stefan watched in amusement. "Impressive reflexes" he said nonchalantly as he rolled up his sleeves. "But, one, I already told you. Those bullets would do nothing but put holes in my shirt and that would piss me off. Two, if we wanted to do what you think we are about to do, we wouldn't have to leave this room. You two are the healthiest humans at this motel, what with all your extracurricular activities, and would taste divine…"

"Damon, stop messing with them" Stefan cut in when he saw Dean's finger twitch on the trigger

"…and three" Damon continued without a beat. "Stefan don't swing that way. So, you can put that boom stick down. We don't mind if you watch though" he added before biting his wrist and putting it to his little brother's lips, staring Dean firmly in the eye with a smirk planted on his face.

Stefan grabbed tightly on to Damon's hand while Dean and Sam watched in a slightly flummoxed state as the veins around his eyes popped and the eyes turned a dark red. He was not a messy eater, and for the most part the blood went down his throat, but a few drops trailed down his chin and stained the green sweat shirt he was wearing. The process went on for a few minutes before Stefan pushed Damon's hand away and wiped at his mouth, his eyes returning to normal. Damon frowned a bit before looking at him.

"You're still pale. You need more" he said before biting into his wrist again, only for Stefan to shove it away

"I'm fine. It's making them uncomfortable" he said, nodding towards Sam and Dean

"Stefan, I won't say it again. And if you want to sleep comfortably on your back tonight, you won't test me" Damon warned

"But…"

"Stefan, its okay. We are fine. Go on and…feed" Sam spoke, his ears burning slightly at the threat Damon had thrown at Stefan. He understood perfectly what it meant, having been in that situation with Dean more times than he could count. He placed a hand on his brother's arm and lowered the gun still trained on the Salvatores.

Given the go ahead, Stefan fed with much gusto now, clasping Damon's hand firmly and drawing mouthfuls of blood. This time when he announced that he was fine, everyone could see the change in complexion. He was still pale, but not pallid. He looked at Sam and Dean from under his lashes, while Damon gave a fond smile and used his thumb to brush some blood off his lips. The activity was so intimate and unlike the Damon they've known in their short time together, Dean and Sam felt like they were intruding.

"Go take a shower. You're a mess" Damon ordered softly, before turning to the Winchester brothers. "So, boys, what new thing did we learn today?"

* * *

A few hours later, Stefan and Sam lay conked out on the beds and Dean and Damon were halfway through a bottle of some amazing whisky. The storm still raged outside, and even with the heating on, the room had gotten colder, though Dean was certain he was the only one who felt it if Damon's complete indifference was anything to go by.

"So, you don't feed on humans?" Dean asked

Damon smiled. "I was wondering when you were going to bring that up"

"So?" Dean prompted

"Stefan doesn't feed on humans"

"But you do"

"But I do"

"And…"

"And we had to leave in a hurry. There was no time to stockpile animal blood for Stefan, and barring human blood, the next viable option was for him to drink from me"

"Do you do that often? Feed him your blood?"

Damon sighed. "Occasionally, but not very often. On a usual day, he drinks animal blood. Today is not a usual day". Dean was silent. "You want to know if I kill people. That was why you pointed a gun at me earlier. You thought I was going to feed on the motel patrons" Dean's silence was deafening. "Dean, how do you think you haven't heard of us yet after all your years of hunting? We can feed without killing, so we don't leave a trail of bodies, and also from blood bags. And we don't turn our victims into vampires when we feed from them. They don't even remember us after it happens"

"Okay. Lot of information there. I'll ask about that later. So why doesn't Stefan feed on humans? Conscience crisis?"

Damon laughed outright. "Well, there's that too. But mostly because Stefan is…well…different. When Stefan feeds on humans, bad things happen. He goes into some kind of spell or something. He doesn't know when to, and can't stop himself in time"

"You mean he kills every time he attempts to feed on humans?" Dean asked, unbelieving that the sweet-faced teenager asleep in the bed before him could do that

Damon nods. "I'm teaching him control. He can drink human blood now without flying into an addicted rage, but not fresh from the vein. He reacts to human blood differently than other vampires"

"I don't want to burst your bubble or anything pal, but its been almost 200 years. When are those control lessons going to start to kick in?"

Damon took a swig of the alcohol. "Stefan and I have not always been together. We were on our own agenda for over half that period"

"Why's that?" Dean asked. Damon raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I get it. Its one of those stories that we are not drunk enough for, isn't it?"

Damon nodded as Dean tried to hide a yawn. He took the remaining scotch, before slapping Dean upside the head. "Come on. Let's get you to bed. I can't deal with you when you are hungover tomorrow"

"Hungover? I'm barely tipsy" Dean complained as he rubbed his head

"Exactly" Damon said. "Now check your salt lines so we can get some sleep"

Dean knew himself the amount of shock he should have felt was very watered down. "How do you know about that?"

"Are you kidding? I had to wait ages to go out while Sam was doing God knows what in the bathroom yesterday and you were still sleeping"

"Oh. Do I even want to know what you were going to do out in the storm?"

"Probably not" Damon smirked

"Right" Dean drawled. "You do know I'll have to kill you though if you hurt anyone"

"I know you'll try"

Dean sighed. "Lets just go to sleep Salvatore. Talking with you requires a kind of patience not discovered yet. Good night Damon"

Damon laughed. "Good night Dean"


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of the vampire diaries or supernatural. If I did, there'd be a lot of crossovers on TV.**_

* * *

**Chapter 6: **_**CABIN FEVER**_

Damon glared at the snow still falling rapidly outside. He had been sat there for a considerable amount of time and Dean had a sneaking suspicion that if the snow were animate, it would be in a world of hurt.

"You know, scowling at the snow from inside here is not going to make much difference"

"What? As opposed to doing it from outside?" Damon sneered, though he still got up from his designated spot by the window

"There he is" Dean sung. "You are **not** an inside person" Dean said as he turned on the TV

"It's been four days already. We were supposed to stop here for the night and we've been cooped up for four solid days" Damon complained

"Tell me about it" Dean grumbled back. "I gotta feed Sam, and that boy's a bottomless pit. I don't know how long we can keep eating vending machine food. Anything microwaveable is gone" he paused as something on TV caught his eyes. "Oh, you're gonna love this" Dean drawled as he unmuted the news

"_The severe snow storm ravaging the south has been forecasted to last for as long as two weeks. Inhabitants of the affected areas are encouraged to stay indoors as much as possible and listen to the news for reports from the National Weather Service on short periods of time when there is a lag and they can go out to stock up on supplies. Motorists are also advised to get off the roads and find shelter as soon as they can. Power companies are trying to set up emergency electricity units as it is very likely there may be power outages. Cell reception may also take a dip in quality so if you are caught out in the storm, do try and call your family and friends as much as you can if you have service. It would be a relief to them to know that you are safe. Our prayers are with you, and we hope…"_

The was a loud noise and Dean ducked instinctively as a throwing knife sailed across the room and embedded itself deeply in the center of the TV. The noise woke Sam and Stefan instantly. He stared at Damon in incredulity. "Dude, what the hell?"

"What is going on?" Sam asked groggily. It was very certain they were nowhere near fully awake

"Edward Scissorhands here decided it would be a great idea to destroy our major source of information" Dean answered sourly

"Two weeks? TWO WEEKS?!" Damon all but screamed. "I can't stay cooped up in here for two weeks. I'm gonna lose my mind. I'd rather hang myself by my toenails and run hot pokers through my eyes"

"Ew" Dean muttered, though it was lost in Sam's semi panicked questions

"Two weeks? What about two weeks? Is that how long we have to stay here? What happened?"

"Storm got worse. Its now supposed to last two weeks. We are supposed to watch the **news**" he threw Damon a dirty look. "…to know when it was safe to leave the motel and get stuff, but **someone** wrecked the TV. That's about the gist of it" Dean all but recited to Sam. Stefan had fallen back to sleep already, and Sam looked not far off. In fact, Dean could tell he was hardly listening to him anymore. "Just, go back to sleep Sammy"

Sam didn't need to be told twice. He just curled back up on the bed and attempted to draw the sheets to his chin-though it only made it to his knees before he gave up tugging- joining Stefan in sleep a few seconds later.

"There is a town about twenty miles up the road. They have a supermarket. We can get supplies there when the storm calms a bit" Damon said softly

Dean raised his head from where he had just finished Sam's half assed job of pulling the sheets up over himself. "Yeah? How do you know that?"

"Its been discussed very loudly in at least three rooms" Damon said dryly

"You can hear all that from here?" Dean asked. Damon nodded. "Huh. Well, we should probably make a list. We can't be out too long in this weather."

"Whatever. The housekeeper's coming down the hall" he announced, about ten seconds before there was a knock on their door. Dean look at Damon, who simply shrugged in disinterest. "I told you she was coming"

Dean rolled his eyes and opened the door, letting in a gust of frigid wind. He pulled the woman into the room and shut the door. "Lady, you almost froze my face off"

"I'm sorry" she said as she peeled off her coat. Her eyes were drawn to the slumbering forms on the bed, though they lingered on Stefan for about five seconds. She gasped as her eyes fell on the knife still embedded in the TV. "What happened?"

"Uhh" Dean begun. "He is not an indoor person" he said, nodding to Damon's pouting form. "We'll pay for it"

"Uhm, sure" she said, her eyes straying to Stefan again. Damon noticed. "Look, I'm going in to town to get supplies as soon as the weather people say its safe to do so. You should make a list of things you need. Some food items, maybe. I can help you cook it if you like" she said. "So, that's it. I'll come back in an hour for your list" she ended, though she did not attempt to leave. She looked at Stefan again.

"Is there a problem?" Damon asked darkly

She startled. "No. Uhm, if you don't mind me asking, whose brother is that one?" she asked, pointing to Stefan.

Damon's look became darker. "Mine. And I do mind you asking"

"He's very handsome. How old is he?" she continued like Damon hadn't even spoken

"Sixteen"

"Oh" she shuddered. "_Al igual que mi Miguel_ (_**Just like my Miguel**_)" she muttered under her breath. Damon heard though, and his murderous look turned slightly softer. "Can I … Can I hold him? Touch him?"

"Hold him?" Dean asked, bewildered. "Lady, he's not a teddy bear"

"Dean" Damon said, shaking his head. He turned to the woman. "Come back in an hour. Maybe he'll be awake then"

"Sure" she nodded and made for the door after pitting her coat back on. She paused, before throwing over her shoulder. "You take care of him, you hear me? Take care of him"

"What was that all about?" Dean asked when the door closed behind her

"She lost her son. He was about sixteen"

"How do you know that?"

"When I was young, before Stefan was born, my mother used to have those looks when her friends came over with their children. She'd had several miscarriages before I was born, and seeing other people's kids reminded her of all she had lost. Trust me, I know it very well" Damon said

"Oh. Well we should get started on that list"

"I don't need anything" Damon said promptly

"Of course, you don't" was Dean's equally swift reply, as he tore a page from one of Stefan's notepads and started writing. "I can't believe we are going to spend Christmas in this motel" he muttered

"As opposed to where?" Damon asked

Dean looked pensive, then he shrugged. "Good point. By the way, you're paying for everything"

Damon smirked. "I figured" **LINE BREAK**

Sam woke up about fifteen minutes after the housekeeper left, with Stefan following roughly ten minutes later and both were now watching a movie on Stefan's laptop. They had concluded their shopping list, which included a staggering amount of alcohol by Damon and Dean; bourbon and beer, an equally overwhelming amount of crunchy junk food by Stefan, and Sam with a list of actual groceries. A knock at the door signaled the return of the matronly receptionist cum housekeeper, almost exactly an hour after Damon had asked her to return. Dean let her in again, and her eyes lit up when she saw Stefan awake.

"I brought you some hot cocoa" she said as she set down the tray she had been carrying, which held four large steaming mugs. Dean gave a whoop before literally vaulting over the bed and making a beeline for the platter. "You should take one of those" the woman said, pointing to the two furthest from her. "I added a little brandy to it. Figured you'll like it better that way"

That got Damon interested as he reached out for one of the mugs, amidst Dean's grateful _Lady, you are a lifesaver._ She picked up the remaining two mugs when Stefan and Sam made no attempt to help themselves - either feeling too lazy or too engrossed in their movie to care - and handed them over, pausing to run a hand through Stefan's hair. The action startled Stefan enough for him to spill the hot drink over himself and the bed, causing the woman to gasp and Sam and Dean to look slightly alarmed.

"Oh _mijo_, look what you've done to yourself" she practically cooed as she dabbed at the wet patch on both Stefan's jeans and the sheets with a napkin

"Get off me!" Stefan batted her hands away, looking to his older brother in confusion when Damon looked on, seemingly unperturbed. "Damon?"

"_**Lasciala**_**, Stefan** (_**Just let her Stefan**_)" he replied

"What?!" Stefan shrieked

"I'm sorry" the woman apologized, settling her hands down in her lap. "You just, remind me a lot of someone"

"Hey Stefan, you okay?" Dean asked. "That drink was pretty hot"

"I'm fine" he reassured Dean, before turning to the woman. "I remind a lot of people of a lot of people, lady…"

"My name is Gabriela"

"… I don't care what your name is" Stefan yelled, before finally turning to Damon. "And what do you mean **lasciala** (_**let her**__)?_"

"Sammy, what are they saying?" Dean leaned over to whisper to his brother

"How the hell am I supposed to know, Dean. Its Italian" Sam whispered back heatedly

"Her son died, Stef" Damon said at the same time Gabriela said in Spanish "You remind me of my son Miguel"

"Oh" Stefan visibly deflated. "I'm sorry"

"It's okay" Gabriela said wetly, while sweeping Stefan into her arms and kissing his head. "It's okay" she kept repeating while shedding silent tears into Stefan's hair. After about a minute and half of this, she pushed Stefan away from her – albeit with difficulty – and with a loud sniff, attempted to collect herself. "The news people said it was safe to go out between eleven and two am tomorrow. I'll come back for your list if its still not ready yet. You'll have to give me more money for a TV though, the owner doesn't like it when people break stuff. I'll let the supermarket know we're coming so they'll keep it open"

"11pm? That's a little late, lady. I don't think its right that you go alone" Dean said

"I agree. Besides, we'll get better stuff from the mall further up the road" Damon added

"The mall? But that's fifty miles away. It would take almost an hour just to get there. And the weather …"

"An hour? Pfft. Please. We'll make it in half the time" Damon scoffed. "And you won't be coming. Dean and I would go, so don't worry about the cold. We'll survive. Won't we, Winchester?"

"That may be, but…"

"Gabriela, come on. We'll get it done, and we'll be okay. You'll see" Dean iterated. "Just go and get the lists from the other customers" he reassured. Gabriela looked uncertain for a minute, before finally accepting and leaving. As soon as the door closed, Dean breathed. "Man, I can't wait to get out of this room. Its stifling"

Damon raised an eyebrow. "I thought I was the one who was not an indoor person"

"No, you were a drama queen about it. I am manlier"

"So, you are leaving to go shopping this night?" Sam asked. He and Stefan had just looked on while their older brothers went back and forth with the housekeeper first, and then themselves.

"Well yea. And you'll probably be asleep by then so…"

"Oh, we'll be awake" Stefan said. Then "Which car are you taking?"

"Mine" both Dean and Damon answered at once, then looked at each other while Sam and Stefan laughed

"I'm sure whatever argument you're both about to make on why your respective cars is the ideal one to take is very valid…" Sam begun, effectively interrupting said argument before it even started. "… but this motel has twenty rooms, and they are all occupied, some with even more than one occupant. You are buying stuff for all these people. Do you think either of you has enough space in your car for that?" he asked smugly

"Shit" came both chorused replies

"Yeah" Stefan said with a satisfied smirk, before going straight back to their movie.

* * *

In the end, they took the jeep of the man two rooms down from them. It hadn't even been difficult. As soon as they mentioned shopping and the lack of space of their cars, he had volunteered his almost immediately. Suffice to say, being stranded in a storm of this magnitude put a fresh perspective on life and brought out people's good sides. Now as they zipped up jackets and prepared to leave, Sam and Stefan were perplexed by Damon's choice of clothes.

"What's with all the white?" Sam finally asked

"Easier to blend" was the curt reply

"Blend? You're driving a black jeep in the middle of the night. If it was blending you were after, shouldn't you be wearing all black like Dean?"

"I'm going ahead of Dean. As soon as we are out of view, I'll run the rest of the way to the mall, get the stuff, and by the time Dean gets there, all we gotta do is load it and be back here in no more than ninety minutes"

"Oh" Sam said. "That actually sounds kinda logical"

"I know" Damon replied. "We're leaving. Gabriela would check on you every half hour or so"

"You got us babysitters? What in the hell for?" Stefan yelled indignantly, Sam not far behind

"You're lucky you're not being sent to her room to wait. Suck it up" Dean said, and then they were gone.

A few seconds later, Stefan heard the car stop and Damon get out, and then the whoosh as he ran off ahead. He told Sam all these, and finally, when he couldn't hear Dean's car anymore, they settled back to watch another movie and wait for them to return.

* * *

**_Updates, my lovelies_**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of the vampire diaries or supernatural. If I did, there'd be a lot of crossovers on TV.**_

_**Warning: This chapter contains CP (Spanking)**_

* * *

**Chapter 7: CABIN FEVER Cont'd (BABY BRO EDITION)**

Two days later and Damon was still sulking about the duration he had to stay at the motel. It was worse since they had choppy cell reception at best, and he couldn't even talk to any of the gang. _Alaric would have a field day if he found out I actually missed talking to him_, Damon mused, as he killed Sam.

"What? How did you… Ugh" Sam moaned

Dean and Damon laughed and it took some edge off Damon's sullen mood. Damon had lived up to his word and he had bought a new TV for their room to replace what he broke, and now they had it hooked to Stefan's laptop and were playing video games. It was not Damon's ideal pastime, but it was something to do to relieve his immense boredom. All in all, everyone was having somewhat of a at-least-don't-wanna-kill-yourself day. Everyone with the exception of Stefan, that is.

He sat glumly, curled up in the armchair in the corner with an expression on his face so thunderous, the storm outside looked calm. He had woken up that way, though woken up may be a bit of a stretch, seeing as how he didn't sleep for more that ninety minutes throughout the night. Damon spared him a part disinterested part knowing glance. His brother was more well behaved than most teens but he was still a teenager and the mood swings still came and went. Sometimes, he rode it out. Other times, a stern scolding or a couple of well-placed swats worked magic. So, he knew one way or another, this will pass. Sam, however, did not.

"Hey, is everything okay with Stefan?" he asked, genuinely concerned

"Teenagers" Dean and Damon said in tandem, surprising Sam with the timing and the matter-of-factness of the reply

"But…"

"Sammy, come on. Let him sulk" Dean advised, never taking his eyes off the racing game he was now playing with Damon. They figured, with the storm outside, this was as close as they could get to racing each other. "He'll get over it eventually. You did, when you were his age. His … physical age … you get what I'm trying to say. Just leave him be for now. He'll come around. And go eat something"

"I'm not a child Dean. I know when to eat"

"Sammy" the warning was clear

"Fine"

Dean sighed. "We must have pissed off someone upstairs. Stefan's a ticking time bomb and Sam's well, I don't even have a name for that"

"Bourbon?"

"Please"

* * *

The day that had begun somewhat okay had gotten worse as it went on. Stefan's demeanor turned darker, if that was even possible – Dean could swear there was smoke pouring out of his ears at a point – and Sam was pouty. Dean and Damon ignored them for a while, and that seemed to work, until Gabriela _oh-so-graciously_ brought them lunch in the afternoon. And that's when things got really heated.

"_Muchachos_" she greeted cheerfully as she balanced her serving tray. "I brought you something"

"You know you don't have to bring us food every day, right? There's a kitchenette right there" Sam said

"Sammy, shut up" Dean muttered as he snagged a sandwich from the plate

Gabriela laughed, as she passed out the hot cocoa she had added to the sandwiches. She gave the spiked ones to Dean and Damon. "I don't mind at all" she said to Sam as she handed him a mug. It was then that she noticed Stefan's distinct lack of interaction. "_Mijo_, is everything…"

"Lady, don't… let him be…" Damon and Dean said at the same time in an attempt to dissuade her from engaging Stefan. She looked confused for a bit, before Damon explained. "He's moody, and very volatile today"

"Oh" Gabriela said. "Oh, I understand. Teenagers, right? My Miguel used to go through such mood swings. It was usually a call for me to lock up my china" she chuckled softly, before going slowly over to Stefan and asking in her quietest voice possible. "I can make you something else if you want, just…"

"**JUST LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE**" Stefan screamed at her, startling the other occupants of the room. "Is that so hard to understand? I'm starting to get why your son chose death over you. It must be very calming"

"**Stefan**!"

"That was not cool"

"Man, that was harsh"

Damon, Dean and Sam said respectively, horrified. Stefan just huffed and stomped off towards the door, wearing only a sweatshirt and not bothering to grab a jacket. He shouldered Gabriela on his way to the door, and that broke Damon's last nerve. He grabbed Stefan, spun him around, and laid a dozen sizzling smacks on his behind. Then he spun him again to face Gabriela.

"You apologize to her. Right now. And don't even attempt to step one foot outside that door if you know what's good for you"

Stefan took a quick swipe at his cheeks because _dammit, that had hurt_, and glared at his brother. "Bite me" he said darkly before brushing past them both and into the cold outside, leaving Sam with a mouth hanging open at the sheer impudence of it

Damon quickly pulled on a jacket and went after his little brother, hoping he had enough awareness left not to blur down the corridors or jump down from their floor in full view of the motel patrons. Dean also pulled on a jacket, shaking his head at Sam when the latter tried to follow him outside as well. Sam attempted to argue, and only got a warning instead.

"You so much as get off that bed Sammy and Stefan isn't the only one going to find sitting very unappealing for the next few days"

Sam blushed red as Gabriela was still around when Dean said that, and plopped himself miserably on the bed. Dean escorted Gabriela to her rooms downstairs, and made it back just in time to see Damon dragging Stefan by the ear and Sam by the arm back into their room.

"Let go of me" Stefan yelled, struggling in his brother's grip, though Damon didn't give any indication that it was bothering him. Instead he pushed Sam further into the room.

"Go warm up" he ordered. "It was very foolish of you to go out in the storm like that, Sam" he admonished, before swiftly pulling Stefan over his knee without a beat, the sudden change of pace and position making the boy's vision swim.

"Oh, he's going to be toasty all right. In more ways than one" Dean said grimly, stalking towards a rapidly paling Sam while pulling off his belt.

* * *

"What **WHACK **did I say **WHACK **about getting off **WHACK **that damn bed, Sammy?** WHACK**" Dean begun as he starting whacking at Sam.

"Ah, Dean stop it" Sam screeched

"What **WHACK **did** WHACK** I **WHACK **say?** WHACK**" Dean enunciated

"Not to. You said not to get off the bed. Dean please, I just…"

"And **WHACK **what **WHACK **did **WHACK **you **WHACK **do **WHACK **anyway?"

"I got off the bed…"

"And?** WHACK**"

"And went outside. Ow ow ow"

"In a **WHACK **damn **WHACK **shirt. In a cold **WHACK **of **WHACK **this **WHACK **magnitude. Are **WHACK **you **WHACK **insane?** WHACK** There is a literal** WHACK** blizzard **WHACK **out there,** WHACK** and you went out **WHACK **anyway, **WHACK **inadequately dressed, I might add.** WHACK** Were you trying **WHACK **to freeze **WHACK **your** WHACK** ass** WHACK** off?"

"It feels really warm now, I don't think that will be a problem" Sam muttered, eyes tightly closed

"Are you sassing me right now, little boy?"

"No sir" Sam said quickly as he choked on a sob. Dean was not playing around with those swats. He suddenly felt very sorry for Stefan. If this was what he was feeling with the protection of his jeans, Stefan had it way worse.

Stefan landed over damn's knees with a thud, and even though on some level he knew the position meant nothing but pain for his backside, he was too riled up to care. That is, until Damon swept his jeans and boxers down to his knees and started landing swat after searing swat on his bare hindquarters. He had enough awareness left to see Dean shove Sammy over the back of the armchair and start whaling at him with a belt – _he got to keep his pants, the lucky bastard –_ before the building heat in his backside brought him back to his own situation, and Damon's lecture. _When had that even begun?_

"When I tell you **SWAT **not to do something **SWAT** I don't say it **SWAT **to hear myself talk **SWAT** You do not **SWAT **walk outside **SWAT** in the middle of a snow storm **SWAT **in nothing but jeans **SWAT** and a sweatshirt **SWAT **just because you **SWAT **are **SWAT **having **SWAT **a bad **SWAT** day **SWAT** There are humans in this motel, Stefan **SWAT** We do not** SWAT** expose ourselves** SWAT** in that way"

"You threw a knife into the TV. I don't think you're in a any position to tell me how to behave when I'm having a bad day" Stefan hiccupped gruffly, not ready yet to concede despite the growing heat in his backside

"That is not the point" Damon smacked harder, eliciting a small _ow _from Stefan. "And I would watch that tone considering your position at the moment"

Sam's sorriness for Stefan suddenly flew out the window when Dean started to pull his own jeans to his knees, followed quickly by his briefs. A cold breeze blew over his bottom and brought him some relief from the burning for a second, but all that was lost when Dean brought the belt down on his now unprotected backside.

"Dean wait, please. I didn't mean to … P-please. Ow. Deeaaannn!" Sam howled, tears rapidly pouring down his face

"This **WHACK **will teach** WHACK** you **WHACK **to be** WHACK** a **WHACK **smart mouth" Dean said as he laid a dozen blistering stripes on his brother's bottom

"Ow, please Damon"

"Please, what"

"I'm sorry, okay. Whatever I did, I'm sorry. Will you let me up now?"

"Whatever you did? Dean, throw me that hairbrush" Damon said, irritation seeping into his voice. He caught the brush deftly and brought it cashing down on the very deserving bottom before him, before Stefan had time to protest. "I don't know what **SLAP **has gotten into you today **SLAP** but this **SLAP** stops **SLAP** now **SLAP **You do not **SLAP **show that kind of disrespect **SLAP **to someone like Gabriela** SLAP** That was low** SLAP** and as soon as we are done here** SLAP,** you're going** SLAP** to march** SLAP** your little behind **SLAP **downstairs **SLAP **and apologize** SLAP**. Understood?** SLAP**" When he was met with nothing but silence and sobs, he swatted harder, wondering just what had gotten into his little brother, and making Stefan jump. "I **SLAP **said, **SLAP **do** SLAP** you **SLAP **understand?** SLAP**" Stefan nodded. "I can't hear you nod Stefan"

"Yes s-sir" Stefan sobbed, nodding along vigorously. "Ow. Damon please. It hurts"

"Good. Now you mind explaining to me where this horrible attitude is from? Its never been this bad before" Silence again. "Stefan?"

"It's n-nothing"

"I will caution against lying to me Stefan, considering your ass is facing my brush" a chuckle was heard from Dean somewhere in the room, as he run his hand through Sam's hair and rubbed his back

"I _hic_ I'm n-not lying _hic_ honest. I just, I d-don't kno-know _hic_ what's wro-wrong with m-me" Stefan hiccupped through the sentence, miserable and very, very sorry

Damon sighed. "Alright. After you apologize to Gabriela, you're gonna take a nap. A long one. See if that will get rid of this crankiness", he raised one knee and dropped the other. "Let's finish this"

By the time Stefan's brain caught up, Damon had already laid ten agonizing smacks on the crease of his bottom; thankfully with his hand, though at this point it could have been with a hot poker for all Stefan cared as he screamed his guts out. Damon was grateful to the storm and whistling wind outside as he was certain they were the only reason no one was breaking down their door to see who was being tortured.

* * *

Dean took a sip of his beer and placed it back onto the table. Bourbon and scotch and whiskey and all those fancy rich people drinks were good and all but sometimes a beer is the best way to go, especially the rich upmarket ones Damon had bought packs of on their visit to the mall. He was playing cards with Damon, who stuck to his bourbon no matter what Dean said about the amazing beer. From the corner of his eye, he saw Gabriela still fawning over Sam and Stefan, even though they had long fallen into deep sleep.

After Damon's 'talk' with Stefan, he had marched him down to Gabriela's room, where he apologized honestly and tearfully. Then, he had been marched back to their room and after a few hugs and kisses to the head, put to bed. Dean had done the same with Sam earlier with the exception of the apology part, and both boys were half asleep before Gabriela came back in. The glare she threw in Damon and Dean's direction was enough to shut down whatever they would have said as she started mothering the contrite boys half to death.

"Gabriela, they are definitely asleep now. Why don't you go and get some rest?" Damon offered. "Or you can make them something nice for dinner, and come pamper them some more?"

The woman huffed. "Fine" she conceded, gathering her dishes and leaving

"I think you were a bit harsh with Sam today" Damon said, reshuffling the cards. "I mean, he shouldn't have gone outside so scantily dressed but still"

Dean nodded, taking another swig of his beer. "I know. I may have overreacted a bit. It's just… Sam is… I've always been responsible for Sam, lets just leave it at that"

"I get it. Its another of those conversations we are not drunk enough for, isn't it?"

Dean chuckled. "You could say so"

"Well, how about we pretend that today, we are drunk enough to have that conversation?" Damon proposed, raising an eyebrow at Dean

They talked for half an hour, and even though they both left a lot of things out about their individual messed up lives, they got the gist of it. When it was over, Dean got up to refill Damon's glass and grab another beer for himself. He plopped the glass in front of Damon as he retook his seat.

"So, doppelganger huh?"

"Yep. Rarer than volcanic lightning and I still got saddled with the only one for the nearest possible future" Damon said. "Demon blood, huh?"

"Yep" Dean repeated. "Little brothers, right"

"Little brothers"

* * *

_Sorry it took longer to update than usual. I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner but no promises._


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of the vampire diaries or supernatural. If I did, there'd be a lot of crossovers on TV.**_

* * *

**Chapter 8: A SATISFACTORY HOLIDAY **

Dean didn't know when he fell asleep or why he was up this early – on Christmas day no less (he was not one for festivities). The snow was still coming down in torrents as he stepped out of bed - at this point it was more of background noise than anything really, that was how much they had gotten used to it. He moved as quietly as possible so as not to wake Sam and Stefan. He sighed softly in relief at the sight of Stefan's sleeping face; the boy was weird. Vampire or not, everybody needed sleep, and waking up some nights to see Stefan cleaning their weapons was creepy. Sometimes Sam was with him, another insomniac brat, and at this stage, their weapons were so well cared for and shone so much Dean was sure some of their next evil things will die from the blinding brightness alone. He was so lost in his thoughts, he almost missed it.

The neatly wrapped presents on the table were not there when he went to sleep, Dean was certain. And seeing as Damon was the only person awake by the time he made it to bed, Dean came to a conclusion; the raven-haired irritation snuck out after he had gone to bed to get gifts. Even though it didn't seem like something the Damon Salvatore Dean had come to know in their short stay was likely to do, he also knew that he'd do anything to put a smile on his eternal teenage brother's face. And with that dizzying vampire speed, it was entirely possible for him to whiz to the mall and back in just a few minutes. Still, it didn't stop Dean from rudely jerking him awake.

"Hey, when did you make time to get presents?" Dean asked as soon as Damon opened a very sleepy blue eye

"What the hell are you talking about?" came the semi expected retort

Dean simply cocked his head to one side. Damon followed his eyes and found the wrapped gifts. He was instantly awake. "You gotta be kidding me. They can send over parcels on Christmas day but not get me out of this hellhole?"

"Wait, you didn't do that?" Dean was confused. _If he didn't then who did?_

"No, I did not" Damon snipped as he grabbed his phone. He gave a short yip of joy at the bars on the screen before dialing a number. The storm had been worse the last couple of days, and along with it came the loss of cell reception. They've been in the motel for over a week now, and as evidenced by the parcels, it was Christmas. Damon smirked at the time that flashed briefly on his screen. _Serves them right if there were still in bed._

* * *

"_Caroline, hold up. Slow down. What… I know school reopens in a couple of weeks; you think it was my choice to get stuck in this storm?... yes Caroline, I know… would you stop interrupting… __**CAROLINE!**__ Stefan's jacket size hasn't changed in the last two hundred odd years, I doubt it's changed within the last week. Now hand over the damn phone to Ric or Elijah, will you?"_

Sam and Dean chuckled while Stefan all out laughed at Damon's phone call. Cell reception had been choppy at best, and by the time Damon found a strong enough signal to complete his call, his animated pacing and loud cursing had woken Sam and Stefan.

"You wouldn't believe what they were arguing about" Stefan laughed as he picked up a package that had his name on it

"You can hear what the other person is saying?" Sam asked, a bit surprised

Stefan nodded. "Of course. Caroline's going on about how we have to be ready for school in a couple of weeks and I'm stuck here. Since its boarding school, the others might have to get my shopping done along with theirs…"

"… and let me guess, she wanted your jacket size" Dean said

Stefan nodded again. "You all know how it went from there"

"But I thought you still hadn't decided which school yet" Sam asked

"You don't know Caroline. She's nothing if not meticulous, especially if she has Rebekah with her. Besides, the stuff we need are not that different between both schools" Stefan shrugged, tearing away the last piece of wrapping paper from the box

"What did you get?" Sam asked, curious

"A Lego set" Stefan replied forlornly

Dean suddenly whistled. He had been going through the magazine Stefan had shown Sam days earlier. "Check out these tuitions. What do they teach at these schools, resurrection?"

Sam laughed, at both Stefan and Dean's reactions, before pulling the curtains and gazing out the window. "Has this storm let up any at all since we got here?"

"Why? You got somewhere you'd rather be?" his brother asked, flipping the current page of the magazine

"We were supposed to do Christmas at Bobby's, Dean, not in some motel in the middle of a snow storm"

"Yea, well, shit happens"

"_No, you don't understand Bonnie. If I stay here any longer, I'm going to die. Literally…"_

"Bit of a drama queen, isn't he?" Dean asked after Damon practically screamed into the phone

"He doesn't like being cooped up" Stefan replied as Damon continued to speak in a frenzy into the phone. He picked up another parcel, only to shove it into Dean's face after a moment of mild surprise. "This one's for you"

"Me?" Dean's shock was understandable

"…_You need to do something to get us out of here, channel the damn storm or something I don't know. It's supposed to be getting better Bonnie, but it just keeps getting worse…"_

"She can do that?" Sam asked, also curious about his brother's parcel from someone they hadn't even met before. "That's your witch friend, right?"

Stefan nodded. "Yes, Bonnie's a witch but I don't know if she can do that. She can do a lot of incredible stuff but even she doesn't know the extent of her powers. No one does really"

"She's quite something, isn't she?

"Oh, she's something all right. You would love her"

"Hmm. I'm yet to meet a witch I don't wanna kill" Dean muttered absentmindedly while ripping the gift wrapping to shreds.

"What is it?" Sam asked, after Dean suddenly paused

"It's a gun" Dean was awed. "And it came with a note too"

"_This isn't funny Bon… is it some kind of punishment, huh? Is Ric punishing me? Is that it?... what, I already said I was sorry. How many times… I don't give a flying fuck about Stefan's homework; you tell Ric that…"_

"I'm done with homework" Stefan sung with a laugh, knowing it will irritate his brother further

"I don't care" Damon yelled at him before returning to Bonnie on the phone. _"Oh Ric, thank god. Where have you… what, why…"_

Sam felt Stefan stiffen, since he was sat so close to him. "What's wrong?" he asked the teen

"New school" was the immediate reply

"Yea, but you already knew …"

"No. _New_, new school" Stefan clarified, pushing himself into a sitting position and now attentively listening to Damon's call. "Damon, what happened to St. Vladimir's?"

The older vampire lifted a finger to tell him to hold on. Stefan just rolled his eyes and turned back to his iPod, indifferent.

"Wait, aren't you bothered that the school was changed?" Sam asked, not understanding his attitude

"Not everyone is as enthusiastic about school as you are Sam" Dean said blandly, reading the note that was attached to the shiny new gun on the bed beside him. "Just leave it alone"

Stefan shrugged. "Stuff like school are deemed 'important'" he begun, the air quotes telling Sam exactly what he thought of the idea. "and we don't get much choice in them. They just pick the schools, and we attend. I was kinda surprised we were allowed to even choose between schools earlier, to be honest, so this dramatic change of mind doesn't come as a surprise to me at all. You learn to roll with it" he ended, shoving some cookies into his mouth while picking up a third present

"Wow" was all Sam managed, before moving his attention back to his brother. "Dean, what's the note say?"

"'For the one Damon destroyed' There's more, but that's all that matters to me" Dean said as he handed Sam the note. "I wish Sam had been that accommodating. It would've saved me a lot of money on the gas I spent to come see your sorry ass at Stanford" Dean said

Sam glared at his brother. "The number of times you came to California can be counted on one hand, Dean"

"So? Even if it was just once, I came, didn't I?"

"Hey, I thought vampires are supposed to feed on blood"

"We do feed on blood" Dean rolled his eyes from his position. "But that doesn't mean we can't eat. We don't need the nutrients or anything, but it helps with the blood cravings. And they taste good. Don't you get bored with one food all the time?" he asked, before giving a 'yes' in glee at the unwrapped present. "This is definitely from Kol" he muttered

"How do you know?" Dean asked

"Cos it's still got the price tag, and the shoddy wrapping. It was got last minute, and Kol is the only one who buys stuff last minute" Stefan explained, ecstatic as he pulled a shiny new skateboard from the box

"You're bored? With blood. You are a vampire and you find blood boring?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, it is essential for our survival but that doesn't mean we have to drink it twenty-four seven. A Little variety never killed anyone. As long as we have blood on a frequent basis, it doesn't matter what we eat" Stefan explained.

"Sammy, the world's most beautiful board is right here and you want to talk about food? Dean asked, as he examined the board. "Jesus Christ, this thing costs more than my car" he exclaimed as the price tag came into view. "Sammy, why don't we have rich friends?"

"You do now" Stefan laughed at his reaction. "Oh, that reminds me, who wants some chocolate?" he sang

"You have chocolate in your bag" Sam deadpanned

"Yeah. I was grounded on Halloween. Damon refused to lift it for trick-or-treating but he did get me a lot of candy for some reason. The chocolate's the last of it" Stefan explained, pulling out a big, fancy looking box of chocolates

Dean leaned over and plucked one. "Don't mind if I do"

"This is really good" Sam said around the sugary sweetness

"It tastes like chocolate" Dean said plainly. "What's the high praise about?"

Stefan laughed as Sam rolled his eyes at his brother. Dean was so like Damon sometimes.

"What about the other ones?" Sam asked, gesturing to the still sizeable number of unopened presents on the table

Stefan waved a hand nonchalantly. "I'll open the rest later. Most of them are for Damon anyway"

"_No, Bonnie. It's a boarding school in Switzerland, that's all that is import… we don't need the brochure Bon…what we need is for you to get us out of this hellhole, not some magazine on how to put on a uniform… if you were able to send it with all these damn presents, you can figure out how to get us out of this shithole Bon…"_

Stefan laughed again, while Sam and Dean were still a bit confused about how the parcels suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "It is some sort of mystical transportation. Bonnie has a fancy name for it but I don't remember" he said in explanation to the Winchesters' unasked question

"So basically, witchy FedEx?" Dean asked

"Something like that" he agreed. He leaned over and opened a smaller parcel, pulling out a magazine like the one Dean was reading earlier, and a letter. "I haven't heard of this school before" he said as he flipped the pages of the magazine

"Says here its barely a decade old. And they have their own university"

"Well what makes it unique? How different is it from these other overpriced resorts passing as schools to make your people change it?" Dean asked

"I think it's like a designer school" Sam begun

"Designer school" Dean interrupted in a deadpan

"Yea. Like bespoke. Tailored to the needs of each student. It says here they don't even take the SATs. "They have their own set of examinations…"

"How do you tailor a school to each student?"

"Maybe if you stopped interrupting me, I'll actually get to that part"

"I'm sorry, Principal Winchester. Please, do go on"

Stefan chuckled, and Sam rolled his eyes, but continued. "It's for, like future CEOs and kids who are being prepared for a particular way of life and stuff like that. You know, people who are going to take over a business someday. They have their own curriculum and are groomed specially for these roles, so they don't take any class that is not integral to these positions. I mean, they do basic math and English but a kid who's going to be the manager or chief exec of a chain of hotels won't take calculus or something similar"

"I didn't know that. How did Alaric and Elijah find this school?" Stefan queried, filing it away to ask his older brother later

"So, basically, they wear suits all the time and learn to be douchebags"

"Err, not exactly Dean. Look, they have to wear uniforms like everyone else. The official look is only on Mondays, I think, and they do have fun extracurriculars. Fencing, horse-riding, golf. There's more. A lot more"

"Sounds like a lot of trouble for some high school degree" Dean said, unimpressed. "What is wrong with regular high school?"

"Well, do they look like they would be complaining?" Sam asked, showing Dean the tuition and the salary range

Dean whistled. "That is a long figure just to teach some snot nosed kid how to sign documents and wear heels"

"_No, there's been no incident with Stefan … of course, I'm looking out for him, I've only been doing it since he was born … sorry, Ric …"_

"Is something wrong with you?" Sam asked, before noticing Dean shake his head at him.

Stefan, though, just shrugged nonchalantly. "Not at the moment. Right now, I'm fine" he said, unconsciously fingering the pendant around his neck

"But…" Sam prompted

"Sammy, leave it alone" Dean warned quickly

"_No, he's not been having nightmares…I know the signs, Ric, you don't have…I assure you, he's okay…well there was an incident a couple days ago, but I handled it…"_

Stefan felt his face heat up a little at the mention of the 'incident'. Only his vampire healing had enabled him to sit comfortably today. Sam still gave a little wince whenever he sat down. Also, true to his word, Damon had made him sleep for a really long time. With an almost exact replica of Dean's words to Sam, he had been confined to his bed for the rest of the day and night. He tuned the rest of Damon's call out as he went back to his iPod.

* * *

Damon was on the phone for a long time, and by the time he was finally done, Stefan and Sam were distracted doing other stuff. Sam was drawing, headphones in and blaring music, and Stefan was on his computer doing God-knows-what. Only Dean noticed the sudden quiet.

"So…" he begun. "Your babysitter replaced my gun"

Damon scoffed. "He's not my babysitter, and you deserved to lose the gun. You were pointing it at Stefan. That gun was a disgrace anyway"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever" Dean waved off. "I suppose that was your doing. Sam, and even Gabriela, also got something in the witch-mail. What is the excuse for that?"

Damon shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about"

"Uh huh. You know, you people are a weird bunch. No sane supernatural being goes buying stuff for hunters, let alone ones they haven't even seen before, even if it's Christmas"

"Something about this strike you as sane?" Damon asked

Dean chuckled. "Not really, but it was a nice gesture. Be sure to thank them for me"

"You're not getting mushy on me, are you, Winchester?" Damon asked with a smirk

"Of course not. But I'm teaching Sammy manners, and I gotta demonstrate" Dean's expected comeback provided

They both laughed heartily, brushing off the act, and being so alike in character, both of them understood the meaning behind it, even if they didn't voice it out.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of the vampire diaries or supernatural. If I did, there'd be a lot of crossovers on TV.**_

* * *

**Chapter 9: **_**SHOPPING, GAMES AND THE BEGINNING OF TROUBLE**_

Dean almost didn't want to get out of the bathroom. The feeling of the hot water on his body was divine, and stepping into that semi-heated room was not looking like a good prospect at the moment. He scowled into the mirror one last time before stepping into the room, immediately noticing the distinct lack of little brothers.

"What happened to the baby bro convention?"

"I sent them off to Gabriela" Damon more or less grumbled. "To deliver her present. I don't think they are returning anytime soon"

Dean chuckled as he started to pull a shirt over his head. "Probably plying them with gallons of hot cocoa at the moment". He squealed as Damon ripped off the shirt. "What the hell man?"

"It's dirty. Take one of mine"

"Really? I gotta do some laundry. When did I even wear this?" Dean questioned as he pulled one of Damon's overpriced – in Dean's opinion – button downs. "How do you still have clean clothes?"

"I hate doing laundry" came the snippy reply

"Hate?"

"Hate. Can't. Don't want to. What's the difference?"

"You _**can't**_ do laundry?" Dean asked, surprised

Damon simply shrugged, nonchalant. "Stefan tried once. The results were very … undesirable"

"So, you just lug around a lot of clothes whenever you take a trip?"

Damon shrugged again. "Yep. Or dry cleaning. Or I just buy new ones"

"There's something wrong with you" Dean muttered as he threw himself onto the bed. "Jesus, I'm bored"

"Join the club" Damon replied as he dragged a chair to the table

Dean turned around. "What are you doing?"

"Working"

"You work?" Dean asked incredulously, sitting up

"Very funny. I'm buying Stefan school stuff. It's something to do, and I have a feeling if I don't do anything to keep myself occupied, something terrible is going to happen"

"I hear you loud and clear, brother" Dean concurred. "So, you're shopping. That is not work" he added, in a complete 360 from the bored tone

"It is to me"

"Whatever. I thought that Caroline chick was already doing that for Stefan"

"Yeah, and I have to listen to the whining later when some shirt is pink, or some collar is too high or some other bullshit. Trust me, you do not want Caroline buying your clothes. She does remarkable with accessories, sometimes shoes, but other than that…" he mimed a shudder as he clicked on a dark red leather jacket.

"Ooh, that looks good" Dean murmured from beside him

"Ya think so?"

"Absolutely. If he doesn't like it, send him to military school"

Damon laughed, then added it to his cart. He picked a similar one in a different color, then went back to scrolling through other jackets. Dean whistled appreciatively at the array of leather jackets. With his help, Stefan got three sleeveless jackets, five or so – Dean lost count – winter coats, two trench coats and an uncountable number of sweaters and hoodies.

"What does he need all these clothes for, anyway? I could wear these in my entire lifetime"

"All **these** clothes? Dean, this are just outer garments" Dean was gob smacked. "Now, we move on to casual everyday clothes"

Dean groaned loudly. "You couldn't just drag him to a mall and buy him a few pairs of jeans"

"The few times I went to physically get Stefan clothes can be counted on one hand, and on every occasion, I just hand out his measurements to whatever salesperson is available and find the nearest bar. This way is better, trust me, both for my sanity and other people's safety"

Dean had to agree with that last part. "True though. But can't Stefan get his own clothes?"

Damon looked him squarely in the eye. "Have you met Stefan Salvatore?"

Dean thought back to the number of times Stefan couldn't be bothered with what he was wearing, or eating or drinking. He had a simplicity that trounced even the Winchesters'. They at least had a good excuse for not being very flashy in their outlook, they simply couldn't afford it. But Stefan, well, he had no excuse on that front. He just was.

"Good point" Dean agreed. He cracked his knuckles and sat straighter in the chair. "Alright, let's do this"

Damon eyed him. "Short stuff, we are just buying clothes, not hunting werewolves"

"Eh, potatoes, potahtoes" Dean shrugged him off. "Let's just send your brother off to school with a cargo ship worth of clothes. I seriously don't get all this stuff you're buying. I mean, you don't even feel the cold"

"It's for appearances. What do you think people will think when they see us strolling in -10˚ weather wearing only slacks?"

"I still think it's a bit much. And Switzerland doesn't have that much cold winters"

"We are not going to Switzerland. Not right away"

"But I thought Stefan's new 'designer' school opens just a few days after the New Year"

"No, that was the old new school. This one reopens in February, and unless the storm is going to last another couple of months, we'll be in our new home by then"

"And where's that? The north pole?"

"Close enough. Greenland"

Dean stared at Damon. "You're moving from sunny Virginia in good old US of A, to the cold depths of Greenland? I know the cold doesn't bother you but still, Greenland?"

"It was Stefan's turn to choose" Damon said, shrugging

"Of course, it was. Well, you wanna freeze your balls off in one of the coldest countries in the world, have at it. What else do we need to get?" he asked, staring at the screen

"Shirts, pants, business suits, tuxedos, socks, shoes, suitcases, backpack, computer…"

"Okay, okay I get it" Dean stopped Damon's rant. "I should have stayed in bed" he grumbled

* * *

A bottle of bourbon between them, they were engrossed in some kind of board game almost one hour later when Sam and Stefan came back. With the exception of Dean giving a shiver and pulling the shirt closer around himself, they did not even acknowledge the boys' presence. Wrappers lay strewn around them, efficiently telling both boys that Damon had finally gotten around to opening his presents. Stefan and Sam looked at each other and shrugged. The boredom was getting to each of them in various ways. At least this way, both big brothers could get off their cases for a while.

They each settled on their respective beds and looked for something to occupy their time. Sam found something quickly, firing up his laptop and doing research. Stefan took longer. Despite almost always blanching when he was likened to a normal teen, Stefan was one through and through, and nothing caught his eye in the room. After an extended period of nothing but huffs and frustration, a light bulb went off in his head and in a few seconds, he was emptying his new Lego set onto the bed. He had hated the present when he opened it - had thought it was childish - but now he could care less if it was dolls and action figures, it was something to do. He took a quick glance at what it was supposed to be and started building.

"Ooh, this is precious. What I wouldn't do to get a picture of this moment" Dean chortled softly.

Damon turned to look at what he was going on about and the scene that greeted him put a soft smile on his face. At some point, Sam had gone to join Stefan and now they were both sat cross legged across from each other on the floor, happily putting together what looked like …. Damon couldn't really tell. It had not started to take any form or shape yet. Stefan didn't have much to be happy about these days, and the soft tinkery giggle of triumph he gave when a piece fit perfectly took him back to a less complicated time.

"What are they even building?" Dean asked

Damon pushed his chair back a couple of inches to get a better view of the box. "I think it's the Taj" he chuckled. "They're not getting done anytime soon. That one has over five thousand pieces"

"Eh, at least they seem occupied" Dean said. "This little slice of heaven came at an opportune time" he added, referring to the game they were playing. "And to think, it'd be lying forgotten in a box right now if not for me" he smirked, as he thought back to how they ended up with their current pastime

_**Flashback**_

"_The longer we are cooped up in here, the more I fear for my sanity" Dean moaned. Suffice to say, they had gotten bored of looking at clothes pretty quickly. Their shopping endeavor had lasted all of twenty minutes. In Damon's words, he was only doing it to relieve boredom and it wouldn't make any sense to get everything done in one day and then be bored the next, so they were spreading it over as many days as possible, but Dean had a sneaking suspicion they were never doing it again. "Your presents are still unopened. There may be something fun in them" he said to Damon_

_The older Salvatore eyed him. "My idea of fun can't be boxed up and parceled, Winchester, so I highly doubt it. But go on, knock yourself out" he gestured to the still neatly wrapped presents from the day before_

_Dean shook his head at the indifference, getting up and hauling the parcels over. Whether Damon liked it or not, he was going to be a part of the process, he surmised, ignoring the eye roll sent his way as he pushed the computer to one side and replaced it with the wrapped boxes. Damon disinterestedly started ripping the wrappings off, pulling out gift after gift. Dean found most of them impressive, but Damon didn't even spare them a glance, and when he made a sound, it was a grunt in the back of his throat. His eyes lit up though, when he pulled up a - really good, judging by his expression - bottle of bourbon, carefully placing it on the table for later, and a picture of a surfboard. The latter actually made him chuckle, surprising Dean._

"_Wow, a reaction. You going to be surfing all that ice in Greenland?"_

_Damon glared at him. "Bite me" Dean snickered as he picked up another parcel. "It's not like I couldn't pop into Australia for some fun" he added, winking at Dean_

"_Why'd they send only a picture anyway?" Dean questioned_

"_Have you ever seen a surfboard, Winchester?" Damon returned snarkily, before his mood changed completely when he unwrapped the box. _

_Dean burst into laughter at the present, ripping it out of Damon's hands before he could destroy it. "I told you we would find something"_

_Damon blanched. "It's a board game!" he stated heatedly. "You got a gun"_

"_Because you destroyed mine" Dean replied glibly. "And you got a surfboard"_

"_That is beside the point. The point is they sent me a bloody board game, like I'm some child. What the hell do I need board games for?"_

"_I don't know, to play?" Dean snarked, settling the game on the bed. "Come on, you are always bored to death. This looks like it would take time, and you won't have to force yourself to shop for Stefan tomorrow to relieve boredom"_

"_I would have preferred the Lego to this" Damon grumbled, still miffed_

"_I don't know, man, it looks pretty dark and a little twisted" Dean said, looking the box over and skimming the contents. "Whoever got you this would have had to dig pretty deep to find something like this. I don't think it's on the open market yet, if it will ever make it there" he muttered _

_Damon's interest was piqued. "Do we get to kill anyone?"_

_Dean smiled toothily. "Maybe?"_

That had been about half an hour ago, and with Damon's new bourbon coursing through his body - he had to admit, it was pretty amazing - and warming him from the inside, Dean turned his attention back to the table. They worked on their individual pastimes for several hours, and it wasn't until Gabriela arrived with dinner that they realized just how long they'd been playing and how fast the day had flown. After their dinner - which Sam and Dean ate heartily, Stefan picked at and Damon ignored completely in favor of bourbon - Damon left to take a shower and Dean braved the cold to return Gabriela's dishes, and stretch his legs. Sam and Stefan attempted to get back to their game, only for Stefan to blink back a wave of dizziness as soon as he stood.

Sam gave him a worried look. Stefan had been acting weird all day. "Hey, man, you okay?"

"I'm fine" Stefan nodded. "Just stood up too fast"

Sam was unconvinced, and considering he had seen their vampire speed in action, to say too fast was a lie was an understatement. "You sure, cos you don't seem yourself today"

A look of alarm flashed across Stefan's face before it disappeared. "Yeah? Why's that?"

"You stumbled earlier, at Gabriela's, and I know how supernaturally graceful you are. I mean, I've seen you jump from the roof and land nimbly on your feet so there's no reason why you should be stumbling on nothing. And at a point in time, you appeared, I don't know, lethargic or exhausted? Just, you seem off, and I think you have a fever" Sam stated

"A fever?" Stefan chuckled. "I don't get fevers, Sam, I'm a vampire. And the other stuff, I'm just crashing"

"Crashing?" Sam queried

"Yeah. I don't get much sleep, you know that, but even vampires need sleep occasionally. If I go too long without enough rest, nature takes over and my body just, sort of shuts down for a while like an induced coma. Sometimes its spontaneous, other times, I see it coming. This is one of those times" Stefan lied smoothly. Being Damon Salvatore's brother did have some perks.

"Oh. Does your brother know?" Sam asked

"Of course, he does. He knows everything about me, annoying as it is", he replied convincingly

Sam chuckled. "I know the feeling"

Stefan breathed an internal sigh of relief. He had succeeded in getting Sam off his back but he needed to go outside and he had to back before Damon left the bathroom. "I think I left my phone at Gabriela's" he said, patting his pockets to sell the act. "I'll be back in a minute" he said to Sam as he left the room

As soon as he was outside, he blurred into the nearest grove of trees and immediately started throwing up. He wheezed as he brought up mouthful after mouthful of blood. He knew it was silly, and dangerous, to keep this from Damon. But there were such things as false alarms, and he hoped this was something similar; never mind the blinding headaches and several nosebleeds he had to scramble to hide from Sam and Gabriela earlier. When there was nothing more to throw up, Stefan straightened, glad that the rapidly falling snow had already covered the blood. He hoped he hadn't been gone for too long, as he rubbed some snow onto his face to get rid of the flush. He also chewed on some, spitting it out a couple of times to make sure his brother would not smell the blood on his breath, and made his way wearily back upstairs. He paused in the hallway to get as much snow as possible out of his hair and clothes, before entering the room. He made a beeline for their bed, collapsing onto it in a tangle of limbs.

Stefan's soft snores made it to Dean's ear just a few seconds later. Sam had his headphones in and didn't hear a sound, but Dean looked at the boy and shook his head. Stefan had gone to sleep fully clothed, boots and all, and he hadn't quite made it to the bed he shared with his older brother. Dean was slightly concerned about the early hour, considering this was Stefan Salvatore, but since he had no experience with their kind of vampire and seeing as Sam was also nodding off, he just concluded that they may have just been tired. And with Damon still in the bathroom, he just pulled off Stefan's shoes, belt and jacket, and pulled the covers over him, effectively tucking him in.

* * *

By the time Damon returned from the bathroom, both Stefan and Sam were deeply asleep. Damon frowned at the scene. "What did Gabriela give them? It's only just a little past eight, and I was in there barely ten minutes"

"I don't know. But whatever she did, I hope she can replicate it. A little peace and quiet never hurt anyone" Dean laughed

"Interesting choice of sleeping arrangements" Damon commented.

Dean raised his head at that. "I didn't feel like carrying him all the way over to your bed"

"Huh" Damon looked pensive. "You okay with it?"

"Why wouldn't I be okay with it?"

"Stefan could eat Sam in the middle of the night" Dean glared at him, and Damon laughed. "Looks like you're stuck with me for tonight"

"Yay me" Dean replied sardonically

"Oh, it won't be too bad. I promise I'll be gentle" Damon teased, then laughed at Dean's expression. "Come on, you want to kill some more people?" he asked, gesturing to their entertainment

Dean stood up to join him. It was too early to go to bed after all, might as well have some fun. Damon spared Stefan's sleeping form one more glance before turning to their game, a thought niggling at the back of his head about how off the scene was. He pushed the thought away, quickly settling into a rhythm with Dean as they attempted to outwit each other.

He should have lingered a bit on that thought.

* * *

_**This didn't quite turn out how I wanted, but its like a slight precursor to the next chapter. So please, do bear with me. Oh, and review!**_


	10. Chapter 10

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of the vampire diaries or supernatural. If I did, there'd be a lot of crossovers on TV.**_

* * *

**Chapter 10: WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS**

The rapidly dropping temperature and the bitter, stinging cold it brought with it was what pulled the Winchesters into wakefulness, Sam and Dean immediately pulling the covers tighter around themselves to ward off the cold. They opened their eyes to pitch black, Sam's several attempts at the light switch on the wall and Dean's with the nightlight effectually telling them one thing.

"Light's blown" Dean announced,

"And the heating along with it" Sam added through chattering teeth

Unaffected by the cold, the harsh sound of the door hitting the wall - a direct result of being swung open with enough force to nearly rip it off its hinges - was what jolted Damon awake a few seconds later.

"What the…" Dean had to practically scream to make his voice heard in the room. The storm seemed to have gotten ten times worse, and that was saying something considering it was bad to begin with. He gathered the sheets on the bed and wrapped them around Sam, instinctually putting his little brother first. "Storm got worse?" he yelled as he attempted to locate and shut the door in the near blackness

Damon paid him no attention, as the first thing he looked out for was Stefan, who it seemed, was nowhere in the room. "Stefan!" he called out, brushing past Sam and rushing into the bathroom to check. He found it empty. "Stefan?" he called out again, blurring past the Winchesters into the storm outside, blasting open the door that Dean and Sam had almost gotten to close fully again. A strangled curse from Dean was the last thing he heard before disappearing into all the snow.

Damon checked with Gabriela first. The woman had a soft spot for Stefan and he wouldn't be surprised if his baby brother found his way there somehow in the middle of the night, but Stefan wasn't there and Gabriela was now almost as concerned as him. He didn't waste time trying to answer her barked questions, as soon as he realized Stefan wasn't there Damon took off again at vampire speed, not minding the audience he had. He would worry about that later; damage control was something he did really well when he bothered to do it. He rushed out into the storm, snow crunching beneath his boots and straining to hear anything above all the winds that would point him in the right direction.

"**STEFAN?**" Damon called out every few seconds for his brother, only to be met with silence every time. He was deliberating on more drastic measures that involved the motel patrons and quite a lot of blood when he heard it; a faint wheezing sound that he followed to the parking lot and to his car. _Of course, why hadn't he thought about it?_ He reprimanded himself as he made out a half-buried body, with only a socked foot visible, a foot he would know anywhere no matter how many garments covered it. "Stefan!" Damon rushed to dig his brother out of the snow. It would seem Stefan had attempted to make it to their car but had fallen short a couple of feet. "What the hell were you doing out in the snow?" Damon muttered as he scraped the last bits of snow off Stefan. When his little brother's face came into view however, he got his answer. His face paled as he took in the frozen blood on Stefan's face, blood whose tracks could clearly be traced to his nose and ears.

"Oh no"

* * *

When Damon walked into his room, Stefan a palpitating near-catatonic bundle in his arms, to find the Winchesters waiting for him, he was not surprised in the least. They had located some flashlights, and the room was now awash in relative brightness; not that Damon cared much, he had perfect vision in the dark.

"Hey, is Stefan okay? What's wrong with him?" Sam asked, concerned.

Damon ignored him as he deposited his brother on the bed, and made a beeline for his phone, only to throw it at a wall in frustration when it displayed no bars.

"Hey, hey man. Calm down" Dean tried to appease. "How do you expect your people to stay in touch if you destroy the phones?"

That did nothing for Damon's agitated state, as he jumped onto the bed beside Stefan and started shaking him in an attempt to dredge some form of response. "Stefan, hey, it's me. Its Damon. Say something. Stef? How did I not see the signs?" Damon questioned himself quietly

"Did you find him?" Gabriela asked as she practically came running into the room, appearance suggesting she had thrown on the first thing she saw. She gasped when she saw Stefan's pale form. "Oh, _mijo" _she spoke softly,then almost immediately schooled her expression. "We need to get him in the tub, right now. You…" she pointed to Sam. "…run some hot water"

"He's not cold. He doesn't need the hot water, this is something…" Damon begun

"I know"

"…else entire…" Damon trailed off as the meaning behind the words suddenly made sense. He raised his head from Stefan's prone form. "You _**know**__?" _he turned to Gabriela. Come to think of it, she didn't look surprised when he had run out of her apartment earlier at vampire speed, he mused. Damon blurred to her and lifted her off her feet. "Who the hell are you?" he asked venomously

Dean and Sam both whipped out guns, but before their astonished eyes, Damon went sailing across the room, hitting the wall with a loud thud. They turned stunned looks to Gabriela, who had her arm outstretched. "What the…?"

"You're a witch" Damon said with a pained grunt as he pushed himself up off the floor, popping dislocated and broken bones back into place with nonchalance. "Is this your doing? Cos if it is, I assure you…"

"I am, and it's not" Gabriela returned. "I love that boy too much to hurt him. I don't know what is wrong with him, but I would hazard a guess and say this is not the first time something like this has happened, considering how frantic you looked when you came by to look for him. And if this is not the first time, it means you probably have a witch who usually helps you through it. Whoever they are, they are not here, but I am. Now, do you want to keep wasting time, or do you want to get him into the tub?"

"Well, if you know what they are, which you seem to do, you would know that Stefan doesn't need a hot bath" Sam started

"I know. The water is not for that" Gabriela interrupted.

"… and there is no hot water" he finished

"We just need water; I'll handle the rest. I'm not losing another boy" she muttered softly, almost to herself as she gathered her hair into a ponytail. She could feel Damon's eyes on her as she moved about. "The bathroom is a little small. It'll be better if the tub was out here"

"Lady, do you have any idea how much that thing weighs?" Dean asked

"He shouldn't have a problem with it, should you, **carino**_** (darling)?" **_she nodded at Damon

"Don't call me that" he growled back. "And I'm not doing a damn thing until I get some answers. What did you mean by you're not losing another boy?"

"Your brother is in a lot of pain" Damon's posture changed at that. "And you want us to engage in story telling? I thought you loved him"

Damon snarled at her. "You do not talk to me about my brother, you …"

"Listen, I know you don't trust me but I promise, I'm here to help" Gabriela said.

"Great" Dean said through chattering teeth. "We are in the middle of one of the worst snow storms I've ever seen or heard of, the heating is blown, my vampire roommate is sick and the receptionist cum housekeeper is a witch. Could this get any weirder?"

Gabriela muttered a spell under her breath and Sam suddenly caught fire, startling Damon and Dean, the latter of whom had his gun pointed squarely at the witch in a second.

"What the hell are you doing? Put him out!" Dean yelled; eyes widened in disbelief

"He's fine"

"Fine? He's on fire, you psycho bi…"

"Dean, I'm fine. I'm…warm" Sam suddenly spoke as he got over the initial shock of being lit on fire

"W-What?" Dean was confused. He could see his little brother literally on fire, though right before his eyes, the flames seemed to be seeping into Sam's skin

"It's witch fire" Gabriela explained. "My own flame. It's only to warm him up so he doesn't freeze. He won't burn, and neither will you" she said as Dean was also flamed up. She then turned to Damon. "I swear on my son's life; I won't hurt him"

Damon still looked uncertain of her motives, but he was running out of options that he had very few of to begin with, Stefan's pained wheezes were pricking at his core and Bonnie was a couple hundred miles away. He needed a witch.

"Fine" he acquiesced, stepping into the bathroom and hauling the half full tub out into the main room. "Will this do?"

The Winchesters were shocked at the apparent lack of stress it caused him. Their surprise further deepened when the water rose to fill the tub, steam wafting from it after Gabriela murmured something and waved a hand over the tub.

"Put him in" she commanded softly. Damon lowered Stefan gently into the steaming water, and she knelt behind his head, holding it above water. Looking straight ahead, she started to recite a spell.

The reaction was instantaneous. Stefan gave a loud screech of terror and pain combined, startling Damon, who immediately tried to stop the process, only to find himself pinned to the wall. Sam and Dean followed almost immediately when they also tried to step in, and the trio watched helplessly as Stefan thrashed in the water, Gabriela's hands never leaving his head. After a couple of minutes - that felt like an eternity to Damon - Stefan's thrashing slowed until it eventually ceased, and then before their astonished eyes, the water started to turn black. It spread out until the entire tub was now an inky black. Gabriela continued muttering spells for a few more seconds, before letting go of Stefan with a gasp. She set Damon and the Winchesters free as she fought to catch her breath, the former rushing to keep his brother's head from going under. When he attempted to pull him out of the tub, however, she stopped him.

"Leave him. He'll be safer in there" she said hoarsely, before turning to Damon. "I have never felt that much power, not since…" she trailed off. "There is something unique about your brother, and I'm going to need you to tell me everything"

* * *

The storm continued to rage outside, Stefan was yet to wake from the still steaming tub, the Winchester boys were very warm for what was the worst snowstorm in decades, about five minutes had passed since Gabriela's request and all Damon had done was pace the room and occasionally glance in Stefan's direction.

Dean sighed for what seemed like the millionth time. "You need to tell her, man. You don't have a choice"

Damon shook his head, not missing a beat in his pacing. "I don't trust her. She didn't tell me she was a witch"

"You didn't tell her you were a vampire. How is this any different?"

"There is. Witches have an unfair advantage. They can always tell a vampire by touch, but we usually only know they're witches a few seconds before we are in a world of hurt"

"Huh. Okay, I didn't know that. Information to be stored away and processed later. But, so what? This is Gabriela, and I'm the last person to ever take the side of something or someone that is decidedly not human, but she has been taking care of Stefan since we got here. She has known what you both were all this while and she hasn't hurt him once. What makes you think she'll want to start now?"

"Because Stefan is anything but an ordinary vampire, Dean, and you know it" Damon retorted. "I just can't…"

"I'd like to know too…"

"Not now, Sammy" Dean said, before turning back to Damon. "Can't what? Now I don't know anything about witchcraft but I know that that tub Stefan is lying in is not going to protect him forever, and Bennie or whatever is a couple hundred miles away. So, will you tell this lady what she needs to know so she can at least put some kind of witchy Band-Aid on long enough for you to get him to the big guns?"

"I couldn't have children" Gabriela spoke suddenly. "I mean I probably could have, one day, but I was married seven years and there was no baby, and I was impatient. So, I went to my coven for help. I knew the risks but I told them I'd do anything. I was young and foolish" she chuckled humorlessly. "I did get pregnant, but seven months into the pregnancy, my husband died under mysterious circumstances, and the true meaning of the devil's bargain dawned on me. I mourned him, and then my Miguel was born. He was the most beautiful boy; had his father's eyes and light brown hair. There was death in our home, so we moved to Bogotá. Then sixteen years later, there's a knock at my door. Anamaria Ortiz was sick and dying, and they needed me and Miguel to come see her before the worst happened. Now Anamaria was the leader of our coven, and she helped a great deal in the spell that allowed me to have Miguel so we owed it to her to at least say goodbye"

Gabriela paused, and in the somewhat dim glow of the flashlight, Sam could see tears welling in her eyes. She suddenly looked angry. "But when we got there, they took Miguel from me. They said Anamaria was too important to let go, and since she gave Miguel life, that life could be returned. But she didn't give Miguel life. Twelve witches performed the spell that gave me my boy, and I had already paid for it with my husband's life. I owed nothing!" By now tears were streaming down Gabriela's face but she either didn't notice or didn't care. Her voice dropped almost to a whisper, and kept increasing with each sentence she spoke. "I begged. I pleaded so much but no one would listen. Anamaria was almost seventy, and my Miguel was just sixteen. He had his whole life ahead of him, and they wanted to exchange his life for some old shrew? It wasn't right, and I told them that, but they just knocked me out. When I came to…" she brushed away at her cheeks angrily. "… when I came to, the first thing I saw was my son's face staring right back at me, with a knife buried deep in his chest. It wasn't right. It wasn't"

Her audience were dumbstruck as she moved over to the window, visibly trying to hold in her sobs. She clasped at her chest tightly, and the boys could clearly see her trembling.

"What did you do?" Sam asked quietly

She took a few seconds to compose herself. "My son was still warm, which meant despite being dead, he hadn't crossed over completely yet. I channeled what was left of his soul, and killed them all" she stated coldly, her voice surprisingly sturdy. "Before I could get Anamaria though, she cursed me"

There was a short silence after that, and it was only broken by a very quiet voice. "With immortality and never being able to nurture a child. _**You're**_ Gabriela Cienfuegos? _**The**_ Gabriela Cienfuegos?"

Everyone turned to Stefan, who was now awake and apparently had been for some time if his question was anything to go by. Damon rushed to his side. "How are you feeling?" he asked at the same time as Sam also asked, "Who is Gabriela Cienfuegos?"

"A witch, who supposedly murdered her entire coven for power" Stefan replied, opting to answer Sam's question and keep Damon at bay for a few more minutes. "She wiped out the _hijas de la tierra_ coven. In 1978"

"And how do you know this?" Sam continued

"We did a paper on her in _History of Witches"_

"A paper? Since when do schools do history papers on witches?"

"Normal schools don't. It was not a normal school"

"You have your own schools? Why am I not surprised?" Dean huffed. "Hey, what did you mean by immortality and inability to nurture a child?"

"Anamaria thought it was poetic justice that I would kill the coven over my child but then I won't ever be able to foster a relationship with another child. And it wasn't immortality per se, she didn't have that kind of power. She bound my life force to **Gran Abuelo Alerche,** a tree that grew in the Andes mountains. We used its roots and bark for spells that required longevity because it was undying; it just had a really long lifespan. She said, **usted tendria la vida pero no viviras** (_**you would have life but you will not live**_). It took four children dying around me to realize the extent of her curse. Whenever I got emotionally close to a child, they die. Twice as a nanny, once as a teacher and then as a babysitter. They all died" she sniffed, then turned to Stefan. "When I saw you for the first time, you pulled at my heartstrings but I tried not to get emotionally attached. And then I touched you for the first time and realized you were a vampire. I was so happy"

"Happy? Why?" Sam was confused

"Because Stefan was already dead" Damon said. "She had found a loophole in the curse"

"Oh" was all Sam managed, remembering Gabriela's tears when she first held Stefan. At the time, they had thought it was just because he reminded her of her lost son

"I asked you a question, Stefan" Damon said

Stefan realized he had run out of time to stall. "Better"

"Good. Can you explain to me then what the hell was going through your mind? Why didn't you say anything to me?"

"Whoa, calm down. Maybe he didn't know…" Dean begun

"Oh, he did. He knew very much what was happening" Damon interrupted coldly. "I'm still not hearing an explanation"

Stefan kept staring at the water. It was better than his brother's face, he was sure. "I just… I thought it was a false alarm and I didn't want to worry you"

"There has been nothing like a false alarm, and in our messed-up lives, there likely never would be and you know this. That's why Bonnie gave you this pendant. So that if a thought as stupid as _false alarm_ ever crossed your mind, this will set it straight" Damon said, raising the pendant to Stefan's eye. "Would you be so kind as to tell me what the color of the pendant is right now, Stefan Salvatore?"

Stefan swallowed, but stayed silent. It was Sam who ended up answering by whispering animatedly to Dean. "It's obsidian" he said, disbelief tingeing his voice. "It was green the last time I saw it, I swear"

"Obsidian? What kinda color is that?" Dean whispered back

Sam rolled his eyes. "Black. Like a very, _very _dark kind of black"

"Why didn't you just say black then?"

Damon dropped the stone with an angry huff. "Do you have any idea what could have happened had your new babysitter not turned out to be a witch? Do you, Stefan? **ANSWER ME!"**

Stefan jumped. "I'm s-sorry"

"Sorry is what you would be right now if you weren't already feeling the effects of your foolishness. But I promise you this, brother, if you ever do something as idiotic as this ever again, what I would do to you would make your little trip with Silas seem like a holiday to Hawaii" Stefan's eyes widened. If he didn't know before that Damon was angry, he surely did now. Silas was never brought up in any conversation, even if it was about him, and if his brother was threatening him with that… "Do you understand?"

Stefan nodded his head rapidly, his face very pale. Dean and Sam watched the scene with interest. Damon had never outright threatened his brother before, and whatever _Silas_ really meant, it must be pretty bad to put the fear of God in Stefan.

"Good" Damon said, ghosting a kiss into Stefan's hair. "Stay in the water. Apparently, it's the only thing protecting you" he added when Stefan attempted to leave the tub. He then turned to Gabriela. "How much do you know about doppelgangers?"


	11. Chapter 11

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of the vampire diaries or supernatural. If I did, there'd be a lot of crossovers on TV.**_

* * *

**Chapter 11: SO LONG…**

The silence stretched on for what seemed like forever, no one willing to or knowing how to, break it after Damon's story. Finally, it was Gabriela who broke the silence.

"Do you have any idea how important - and endangered - you are?" she asked, referring to Stefan

"Trust me, we know" Damon replied

She shook her head. "I don't think you do. There is nothing on earth rarer than a doppelganger. The rules of nature demand that all living things must die. That is the golden rule, and it is non-negotiable. Doppelgangers are what happens when that rule is broken, when an immortal living being is created. They are nature's idea of balance; copies that can die. And even then, they are still quite rare, only occurring over a specific number of years"

"But I don't get it. You are immortal, or so Stefan says, and vampires are considered immortal too. Shouldn't doppelgangers be swarming around?" Sam asked

"Humans have chosen to name anything that lives beyond two hundred years as immortal, but there are few truly immortal things in the universe, if any. The vampires are immortal, true, but only in the sense that they have the _**ability**_ to live forever. They can be killed, and as long as they _**can**_ die, they are not _**truly**_ immortal. Me on the other hand, my immortality as you know, was linked to a tree that grows in the Andes mountains. It's already about a thousand years old and according to scientists, can grow to be about three to four thousand years old. In the seventies, that felt like a pretty immortal tree, and that's what Anamaria cursed me with. As long as that tree stands, I live. But it's time will come to an end one day like all living things, no matter how long it takes. So, you see, I'm not truly immortal. But Stefan, Stefan's original version was a true immortal; living forever, unkillable kind of immortal. And that is what makes him one of a kind; he's the only one there is"

"Is he?" Dean asked, turning to Damon. "I mean, you did tell me a bit but not much"

"Not exactly. His ex-girlfriend is too, but she's human and would be gone soon. And since both their originals are now actually dead, this is the last reiteration" Damon answered.

"His ex? Sure, why not. It's not like this is messed up enough as it is" Dean said sarcastically

"And Stefan being a vampire means he'll be around for a very long time" Sam connected

"Yes. And it's not like anyone can find Elena anyway. She's cloaked pretty heavily" Damon said. "By the time anyone broke through, even if they could, she would have finished her mortal journey and either be dead, or very close to it"

"That leaves Stefan as a possible target for anyone who's looking" Sam continued, then frowned. "But what is wrong with him now?"

"Not to rain on your parade or anything, but lady can't you witchy-mumbo-jumbo the lights and heating back or something?" Dean asked. "I mean I'm toasty as hell but you got a motel filled to bursting with other people, who I'm sure are freezing their butts off"

"I'm not leaving Stefan" Gabriela announced

"Can't you do anything from here?" Sam asked

Gabriela looked pensive. "There's a black candle in the third drawer in my kitchen. Get it" she said to Dean, who tore down the corridor to fetch it. When he returned, she lighted it and muttered a few words. The lights and heating came alive immediately. "There would be power as long as the candle burns"

Silence followed her proclamation, and then Sam brought them back to the problem at hand. "Well, so what is wrong with Stefan now?" he asked again

Damon sighed. "A few months ago, someone jacked Stefan's blood and sold it on the black market. We tracked most of it - and the parties involved - down but few got away. So, Bonnie cast a spell that anytime someone attempts to use the blood, this pendant here on Stefan's neck changes color to alert us, then my part begins"

"Why didn't it alert you in time?" Dean asked

"Oh, it did. But Stefan was foolish, and didn't say anything because he thought it was a 'false alarm'. Like we are ever that lucky" Damon muttered. "You see, Bonnie's spell was more than just witchy GPS. It links every drop of Stefan's blood out there to that pendant. When we try a locator spell to find them it just leads back to Stefan himself so the blood has to be in use before it can be found. And when that happens, he becomes something of a conduit; it is channeled through him. Most times, all they use the blood for is to augment power, and all Stefan gets is a bad headache but sometimes, for the really hard-core spells, the effects are devastating. Now, when witches cast very powerful spells with dark objects, such as Stefan's blood, they usually do a series of small spells in advance to sort of prepare, or sometimes just to psyche themselves up. These small spells are the main reason for the pendant. They alert us that something big is going down"

"The small spells were the reason for his dizzy spells and shakiness lately" Sam connected

Damon nodded. "Yes. And he should have told me immediately but he didn't so when whoever it is started on their main spell, all that amount of power flowing through him, boosted by his own blood was what caused him to end up nearly frozen in the parking lot"

"So now what?" Dean asked

"The water I placed him in is keeping him neutral for now. I back channeled him to make the blood as ineffective as possible, but I can't hold it for long and as soon as it clears, it's going to start all over again" Gabriela answered

"Well, then can you find who is juice boxing him so his people can at least get on that?" Dean continued

Gabriela shook her head. "No. To do that I will have to leave Stefan open for the other witch to use, which will make them significantly stronger than me since they will be channeling him, thereby making it almost impossible to find them. I can't do both at once. I don't have that much power"

"Wait. Isn't that what your friend did? I thought all witches could do that?" Sam asked

"Bonnie … is something else" Damon said, a hint of pride tingeing his voice. "She can do shit you wouldn't believe"

"I almost don't want to meet her" Dean mumbled

"I would very much like to meet her. She sounds gifted" Gabriela said

"Well, then can't you get her to come here and fix it? That should be easy right? I mean you could just put her on a private jet or something" Sam asked

"Not really. The money is not a problem. But the rest of my family are a couple hundred miles up north. It would take too much time to get her down here, and that is time Stefan doesn't have" Damon replied. "There is another way, but I'll need permission and the storm is not letting up anytime soon for cell service to even be remotely okay"

"Your brother is suffering man, possibly dying. Won't it be better to ask forgiveness than permission?" Dean asked

"Believe me, Stefan's wellbeing is all that is on my mind at the moment. But it's a rather dangerous procedure, and if everything doesn't go exactly right, the consequences will be shattering" Damon replied, beginning to pace animatedly. He paused to look at his shattered phone, then sighed. "Your phones wouldn't happen to have any bars, would it?"

The Winchester brothers took a moment to check, then shook their head simultaneously, causing Damon to groan loudly in frustration. He took another look at Stefan in the steaming tub, and arrived at a decision. Sam and Dean watched as he marched over to the bed he was sharing with his brother and dragged his suitcase out from underneath it. A few seconds of rummaging and what looked like a secret compartment being opened later, Damon produced a vial containing a dark liquid. He held it up tentatively.

"This is Bonnie's blood. For a period of time, it will give you the magical capabilities of one of the most powerful witches of the Bennett bloodline" Gabriela opened her mouth to say something, but Damon cut her off. "If you use that for anything other than taking that other witch down and helping my brother, I won't kill you I will just make you wish you were dead for the duration it takes that houseplant you are linked to, to become dust. Understood?"

Gabriela nodded jerkily, and though she had no intention of misusing the power Damon was about to trust her with, she felt a cold run down her spine at his threat. Dean and Sam felt it too.

"Dude…" the elder Winchester begun, only to be cut off again by Stefan

"Damon, come on…" he started, only to stop mid-sentence with a slight hiss he hoped Damon had not heard

"No. You don't get to say anything right now" his brother cut him off sharply, causing him to drop his eyes back to the inky water. "And what was with the wince? Are you in pain? I thought you said he'll be safe in the tub" Damon levelled at Gabriela

"He is safe. Whoever it is was trying to reconnect with the spell. See how the water ripples when that happens. It means we are running out of time. I told you the tub won't protect him forever" Gabriela explained

Damon turned to the Winchesters as he started to pull of his jacket and roll up his sleeves. "She'll have to channel me for this to work. I will be out. Dean, if anything…"

"Nothing will happen to Stefan, or you. No need to threaten me" Dean interrupted

Damon nodded and turned back to Gabriela, who had moved to stand behind Stefan in the tub again. "You are going up against someone or people who will be using doppelganger blood. Bonnie's blood and my strength will give you a significant boost, but on the off chance that this is not one person or they have more blood than we think, you should use the storm to your advantage. Nature packs one hell of a magic-boosting punch in the right circumstance and they don't come any better than this" he breathed. "Okay, let's get started"

Gabriela took the vial and downed its contents in one gulp. She felt the extra power almost immediately, muttering a few words that caused a symbol to be carved onto Damon's head. The eldest Salvatore gave a short pained gasped before dropping onto one knee and then going motionless in unconsciousness. The Winchesters watched wide-eyed as he desiccated before their eyes. The door they had painstakingly managed to shut earlier was blown open once more, effectively shaking them out of their trancelike state.

"You might want to take a few steps back"

* * *

Bonnie shot out of bed with a loud gasp and enough force to knock her onto the plush carpeted floor, and bring Kol running from the living room where he had been watching movies. It was a little past four in the morning, and everyone but Kol was still sleeping. While he had been the first to get there - even before Caroline, who was sharing the room with Bonnie, was fully awake - the young original was not the only one now who was staring at the witch worriedly.

"Bonnie, what's wrong?" Alaric asked first, despite being the last to arrive, Klaus and Enzo in tow

"Some…something is wrong with Damon and Stefan" she managed to wheeze, still dazed. She jerked her head in their general direction. "Get back" was all the warning they received before drawers flung open and candles floated to the floor before the bed. Candles that lit up at the small _'incendia' _she whispered under her breath, while she scrambled to kneel in the semi-circle the arrangement had created.

"Bonnie, slow down. What. Happened?" Elijah asked this time

Bonnie breathed. "My blood. Someone took it, I can feel them. And the only people not in this room right now who have my blood are …."

"Damon and Stefan" Caroline completed. "And they're together"

Bonnie nodded. "Damon wouldn't give my blood to someone unless he had no other option, or worse, it was taken from him. I can find out what's happening. We may have to go get them"

Alaric sprang into action. "Do you need anything to complete the spell?" Bonnie shook her head. "Okay good. Keep going. Klaus and Kol, get ready. You may have to come with me to fetch them. I'll try and see if I can get in touch with Damon" he ended as he started dialing.

"Oh, this bitch didn't" Bonnie suddenly muttered, Elijah instinctively issuing a soft warning of _'language'_. Her eyes were unfocused, and whatever she was talking about, it was obvious she was the only on seeing it

"What? What do you see Bonnie?" Alaric asked frantically, dialing forgotten

"Damon's unconscious on the floor, Stefan is unconscious in a tub filled with black water or something, and there is a witch chanting over him" she announced. "I'm stopping this"

* * *

Despite their inability to feel the frigid cold now, Dean still pushed Sam behind him into a corner as Gabriela continued to chant. This was more intense than the first one and they could tell. Stefan was not screaming this time, but the blood pouring freely from his nostrils told a lot.

"How long do you think this'll take?" Sam asked suddenly

"I don't know Sammy. Last time I contacted a witch for a job like this, she blew me off"

Sam chuckled mirthlessly. "It's been a weird couple of weeks"

"You don't say"

"We will have quite a story for Bobby when we see…" He was cut of suddenly by a choking sound that surprisingly didn't come from Stefan or Damon but Gabriela. Sam scrambled to his feet. "Gabriela, you okay?"

The choking sounds continued, but Dean could make out a few words.

"…not hurting …didn't … steal … his choice … helping … please … just watch … see …"

"I think there's someone else here, Sam" he said. _Oh, I hate this. _"That's not good" he added, looking at the tub

Sam followed his eyes and saw what he meant. The inky black water around Stefan was starting to clear, and with it came vein-like lines creeping up Stefan's neck. _Oh no!_

"Look, if you're Damon's witch, he's not hurting them. And according to her the water is the only thing keeping Stefan away from whoever wants him, so could you please let her finish? Uhm, ma'am?"

They stood with bated breath as Gabriela took in a deep breath, before jumping right back in to her spell. The lines that had crept up to Stefan's cheeks now rapidly faded as the water took on its earlier black color again.

"Sam?"

"Mm hmm?"

"What just happened?"

* * *

Bonnie breathed deeply as her eyes slid back into focus. She looked up at the supernaturals surrounding her. "Someone was using Stefan's blood. The witch is helping them to stop it, I think; I don't exactly know. She has my blood in her so I can piggyback and locate the witch, because if this new witch succeeds in breaking her spell, we won't be able to find her again. We need to know how she got Stefan's blood"

"Is she … is she strong enough? Will she be able to stop the spell?" Alaric asked

Bonnie nodded. "She has my blood in her, and she's channeling Damon. If she's smart, she'll use the storm too. She should be okay"

"Okay then. You good to go?"

"I will need a map, and something of Stefan's I can burn"

"You can have my atlas" Kol said as he handed over the book, already opened to a map of the world. "I hated geography anyway". Bonnie chuckled softly as she took the map. "And this is a tie I borrowed from Stefan"

"You stole Stefan's tie" Klaus deadpanned

Kol sniffed, nonchalant

Bonnie burnt off a piece of the tie and palmed the ashes, waiting. When the time was right, as only she could feel, she muttered a spell and dropped the ashes onto the map. They watched as it floated in a small whirlwind above the map before settling on a spot.

"We have a location" Caroline beamed

"We have a location" Klaus and Enzo iterated, sinister twin smirks dancing across their lips

* * *

They couldn't tell whether the water clearing was a good sign this time or bad. Stefan was a bloody mess and Damon had yet to wake, but Gabriela's relatively clear-eyed gaze was enough for them.

"Oh, thank goodness" Sam breathed

"Is it done? Is he okay now?" Dean asked

She nodded. "He's fine" she said, flicking her wrist to put out the candles. The symbol on Damon's head disappeared and his skin returned to its alabaster smoothness. Dean closed the door and the storm still raged outside. "Put him on the bed" she said to Dean, gesturing to Damon

Dean made to carry the older Salvatore, only for blue eyes to blink up at him blearily. "I'm fine, Winchester. I don't need to be 'helped'"

Dean rolled his eyes. "Sure, you are. Come on, up you go" he said, pulling him up off the floor. "How are you feeling, bud?"

"I said I was fine" Damon grumbled, his eyes moving across the room until they settled on Stefan's unconscious form in the tub, face marred by blood that had been free-flowing from his nose. His gaze lingered on his brother, before they turned back to something that had caught his eye earlier. "What's that?" he questioned Dean on the pieces pf paper that were now beside the TV.

Dean frowned as he stood and picked them up. "I don't know. They weren't here before". he proceeded to read. "_The candle won't last much longer. You have to get going now. B_" Dean looked up at the candle and sure enough, it was almost burnt out. "How the hell do they know that?"

"I told you. Bonnie is something else" Damon said. "What's the other one say?"

Dean looked back at the second piece of paper he was holding. _"Call me when you can. See you soon. A"_

Damon reluctantly lifted himself out of the bed, clutching the headboard as a wave of dizziness washed over him.

Sam frowned. "You don't look so good"

"I'll be fine. Just need a second. I was just juice boxed" came Damon's curt reply, as he took in a couple deep breaths before fling his and Stefan's suitcases on the bed. "We have fifteen, maybe twenty minutes, out of that candle. Better start packing" he directed toward the others in the room as he deposited a shirt, jeans and boots on the bed

"You're not seriously thinking about going out in that storm, are you?" Sam asked incredulously

"The storm won't bother me Sam" Damon said as he wiped the blood off Stefan's face with a towel. "Gabriela, explain to everyone about the heating and tell them to get ready to leave in fifteen minutes"

"Yeah, I know. But everyone else is vulnerable" Sam argued. "They could die out there"

"They _could_. But if they stay, they **would** die" Dean replied

"You're agreeing with this?" his brother was dumbfounded

"It's only about twenty miles to the next town. That's a twenty-minute drive"

"On good roads and in good weather. Have you looked out the window lately?"

"We don't have a choice, Sam" Damon chipped in as he hauled Stefan out of the tub and onto the bed. He stripped off the wet clothes and replaced them with dry ones without batting an eyelash, chuckling in amusement when Sam and Dean turned their backs to give them privacy. "I can hear others already gathering their stuff anyway" he added as he laced up Stefan's boots and pulled a cap over his ears. He pulled two pairs of expensive looking leather gloves from his bag and threw it to the Winchesters. "Put these on. You need them more than we do"

With that he zipped up both suitcases, and blurred out the room with them, reappearing a few seconds later. The candle had burnt down further significantly and the lights were starting to flicker. "Come on guys. There's not much time left. Most people are down already"

"We're done" Dean said, holding the door open as Damon carried Stefan through, then gently shoving Sam ahead, before finally pulling the door shut behind him

Barely ten paces out the door and the lights finally went off. They made their way in the darkness towards the parking lot, the gleaming snow showing the way. The parking lot was a bustle of activity as headlights illuminated people moving about and shoving the last of their luggage into their trunks. Dean and Sam made their way to the impala, throwing their duffel bags in the back. Dean looked up to see Damon coming around to the driver's seat as Gabriela fastened a seatbelt around Stefan in the back.

"You're taking Gabriela?" he asked

Damon nodded. "She didn't want to leave Stefan, so I offered her a job"

"And she accepted? Didn't you just threaten her barely an hour ago?" Sam asked

Damon chuckled. "Between you and me, not my first time. Besides, it comes with great dental"

Cars had started pulling out of the lot now as they all drove in a single file. Dean nodded to Damon as he got behind his wheel.

"Hey Salvatore" he called out just before he had to pull out. Damon turned. "These last couple of weeks have not been all awful"

"Likewise, Winchester. Likewise" Damon returned, setting off just behind Dean, the two bring up the rear.

Both young men spared a last glance at the motel as it rapidly disappeared. _So long, tin can._

* * *

Alaric picked up the phone before it even begun to properly ring. _"Hello"_

"_It's me. We're on our way"_

"_How's Stefan doing?"_

"_Yet to wake. He could do with the rest"_

"_It'll take too long by car. Get to the nearest airport"_

"_I'm not ditching my car"_

"_I'll handle it. It will be taken care of"_

"_Okay. I'll call you when we are in the air" _he made to hang up, and then, _"Oh, almost forgot. There's someone else"_

"_I found Stefan a new nanny"_

* * *

_This story is almost finished. There's only one chapter left; epilogue. Thank you all for your time and patience. And do stay safe._


End file.
